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What’s New on the Funding Frontier? The Greater New Bedford and Bristol WIB’s Pursue $700k Ex-offender Reentry Grant The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has issued a grant application to specific regions currently implementing reentry programs and receiving a large reentry population. Other regions invited to apply are: Boston, Hampden, Central (Worcester)and North Central Mass, and Metro South/West. The Greater New Bedford Career Center in partnership with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department, the Parole Boards, and Bristol Community College have been conducting a behind-the-walls and post release job readiness program for three years now. As many of the released population find themselves in the Bristol WIB region as well, this grant provides the opportunity to work on a multi-WIB level and create a more seamless reentry program. This grant has a due date of October 29th. Both WIBs and partners are very excited. Brownfields Training Grant/BRC The City of New Bedford will be submitting an Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Training Grant application next week. Receiving this grant will finance the training of approximately 45 trainees. The training will provide graduates with a portfolio of skills which prepares them not only for immediate employment in the brownfields remediation sector, but also with additional options for building careers in a variety of occupational categories, such as air quality, emergency preparedness and response, energy technologies and services, environmental lab services, safety and health, solid and hazardous waste management, wastewater management, water supply and quality, and sustainability. Approximately 16 of the graduates will receive college credit for their coursework. The Brownfields Redevelopment Council (BRC) comprised of local government, industry and community leaders has been established to monitor and evaluate the program to insure that it aligns with current industry standards, community needs and employment opportunities. The BRC also provides planning and oversight guidance and conducts fundraising efforts to facilitate the redevelopment of the region’s brownfield sites. The Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and New Directions Southcoast, Inc. (NDSI) are participating members. Weatherization Technician Training Program The Weatherization Technician Training Program (WTTP) was developed in partnership with the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board (WIB), UMass Dartmouth Office of Campus and Community Sustainability, One-Stop Career Centers, BCC Center for Business and Industry, and Delisle Enterprises, Inc., to provide entry-level weatherization education, skills development and employment opportunities to a New Bedford focused group of participants. Weatherization is a growing industry, which is projected to increase dramatically in the near future. The WIB, and its partners recognize that the WTTP is one important starting point in a “Green Certified” program, which is an element of the “Green STEM Pipeline”. Green Certified will include more certifications, such as HAZWOPER OSHA-40, and different internships, such as solar panel insulation. Moving through the Pipeline, one may then go to a community college for an associate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics, and then onto a four-year college for a bachelor degree and higher. In general, WTTP supports a more sustainable society by increasing energy efficiency and creating jobs in the process. The WTTP directly aligns with the objectives found in the Mayor’s Sustainability Task Force’s Report as the WTTP looks to implementing the weatherization and training components of the Task Force’s recommendations. We hope to confirm funding of this project in the next week. We’ll keep you posted! 227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946 PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680 E-mail: Webmaster@gnbwib.org |