Federal Grant Bringing $14.6M to NJ Colleges

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez Wednesday announced nearly $15 million in federal grant money would be steered to four New Jersey colleges.

The money, a total of $14,638,988.36 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program, would aid students at Passaic County Community College, Essex County College, Union Community College and Rutgers University in Newark.

“The opportunity for education made a tremendous difference in my life, which is why I am so proud to announce this funding to New Jersey colleges today,” said Menendez, a Democrat. “These programs are aimed at anticipating industry’s workforce demands of the future, and educating people who are able to meet those demands today. This will not only help create great opportunities for the students who benefit from these programs, but it will also lead to a more prosperous New Jersey for all us.”

The grant money, according to Menendez's office, would be divided as follows:

• $301,678.44 to Rutgers University in Newark to help provide entry and middle level employment skills in supply chain management. The three New Jersey colleges receiving these grants are members of a national consortium dedicated to cultivating a skilled workforce to meet industry’s supply-chain management demands. The program includes traditional and online instruction, as well as industry-approved internships, apprenticeships and on-the-job training. The employer partners in New Jersey participating in this program include the Campbell Soup Company, Wakefern Food Corporation, and American Musical Supply. 
  
  
• $2,750,000 to Essex Community College to develop accredited courses aimed at developing skills and competencies for the information technology field. Students will earn industry credentials and college certificates that are valued by employers while simultaneously working toward an Associate Degree that is transferrable to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Technology.
  
  
• $1,037,225.32 to Essex Community College
  
  
• $8,988,233 to Passaic County Community College to lead the Northeast Resiliency Consortium, a new collaboration involving seven colleges to create a highly skilled and resilient workforce in four northeastern states (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts) that have been affected by crises or natural disasters including Superstorm Sandy, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings. The partnering colleges are: Atlantic Community College (Mays Landing), Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, MA), Capital Community College (Hartford, CT), Housatonic Community College (Bridgeport, CT), Kingsborough Community College (Brooklyn, NY), LaGuardia Community College (Queens, NY).
  
  
• $1,551,851.60 to Union Community College