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| From © The Flint Journal |
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Feds send green for green training |
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January 14, 2010BEATA MOSTAFAVI |
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FLINT - The White House will help roughly 200 area job-seekers in this hard-hit manufacturing community get green job training in Flint.
Mott Community College received a $3.7 million federal grant Wednesday, joining fewer than 38 groups in the country to share a total $150 million award from the U.S. Department of Labor to help prepare people for green jobs.
The college will use the two-year grant to train people in low-income communities for jobs in green construction and place 140 participants in unsubsidized employment.
Flint STRIVE, a job skills training agency, also will share a $600,000 award with a Benton Harbor agency, according to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Michigan organizations received more than $13.5 million.
Ed Montgomery, the Obama administration's auto recovery czar who has visited Flint twice - announced the total $150 million national award Wednesday as part of a series of stimulus grants throughout the country.
The latest round of funding - called Pathways Out of Poverty- targeted low-income areas that need help accessing prosperous jobs and was mainly awarded to non-profit groups.
According to MCC's data based on labor statistics, there are about 39,000 jobs in green construction in this region - but that number is expected to grow by about 6 percent in the next three years.
The current wage for green construction jobs in the local region is about $22 an hour, according to the college.
Area officials say the local slice of stimulus funding is a significant step in changing the face of a region devastated by auto industry woes and gives Genesee County a leg up in what's being dubbed an emerging green revolution.
"Green has been designated by the federal government as the area they want to grow and they want to make sure we don't have a skill gap," said Judith Cawhorn, MCC's executive director of grant development.
The federal money will help train people in a new certificate program at MCC for new green construction careers, such as weatherization, making buildings more energy efficient and "de-construction" which includes recycling materials from torn down buildings.
MCC's one-year sustainable green construction certificate will include roughly 13 courses and apprenticeships and job experiences with local companies. The college expects to launch the program in the next couple of months.
"The state of Michigan is leading the charge around green and sustainable jobs," Cawhorn said. "It's a win-win. It makes the community healthier and prepares people for the skills they need for this new emerging sector. We are promising employment."
Partnership with several local groups, including the Career Alliance and some area construction companies, will also allow for real job experience and internship type opportunities.
"Our manufacturing communities have been hit hard by the current economic downturn, and too many of our friends and neighbors are struggling as a result," Congressman Dale Kildee, D-Flint, said in a statement.
"I have always believed that education and economic opportunity go hand in hand, and this grant will help 200 low-income members of our community train for a career in the fast growing field of green construction."
Participants in MCC's new program can pursue a two-year associate's degree in green construction and continue on for a four-year degree in construction management at Eastern Michigan University.
Also in Michigan, Grand Rapids Community College and Housing Solutions Corp. in Detroit both received $4 million grants.
Staff Writer Ron Fonger contributed to this report. |
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