CCCC Officials Celebrated at Grant Kick-Off Event

Cape Cod Community College President Kathleen Schatzberg and Grants Developer Georgia Carvalho joined with colleagues from the state’s 14 other community colleges yesterday to showcase the state’s success in garnering a $20 million US Department of Labor grant focused on helping move the long-term unemployed and underemployed back into the full-time workforce. 

The event was the official recognition of the grant that was announced by the Department of Labor in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education earlier this Fall. The project is the first time all 15 community colleges in the state have joined together to seek federal funds.

The goal is to transform how the community colleges work with each other and with the adult education and workforce development systems in each region and statewide. 

The $20 million dollar grant, funded through the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education will create collaborative statewide change in the delivery system of high quality education and training programs for workers eligible under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) and beyond.

“It is a new delivery model for a new era and will go a long way to make a significant difference in the lives of the individuals who need the training and education to get ahead in these challenging economic times,” said William Hart, Executive Director, Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office. 

President Schatzberg noted that the grant will bring $784,558 to the College over three years.

“Most of these resources will fund project staff to reach out to displaced/dislocated workers and mentor them through the College enrollment and learning process. The next major cost is funding the purchase, installation, and training for unique software that will help us stay connected to these and many other students. Support academic services for participants, and resources to implement the accelerated statewide Adult Basic Education and developmental education curricula, are also part of the program,” she concluded. 

The grant is designed to focus on key industry sectors that reflect the strategic economic development plan of the Commonwealth: Life Sciences and Biotechnology; Information Technology; Health Care; Clean Energy; Advanced Manufacturing; and Financial Services and Entrepreneurship. Funding from this grant will provide a seamless pipeline of supports and activities from the moment an individual is notified of their layoff, to their completion of education/training, to their achievement of a new job or career; benefiting both the individual and the Commonwealth. 

On the Cape the focus will be primarily on health care and environmental technology related careers. As the grant program begins to roll out after the holidays, timelines for bringing grant-based staff on board will be developed.