In a roundtable discussion held in Phoenix, we convened with U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation and East Valley Institute of Technology, to highlight the importance of new $4 million Apprenticeship Building America grants from the U.S. Department of Labor that will help expand pathways to Good Jobs for women, young people and Latinx workers, which ultimately help improve local communities seeking to enable greater economic mobility.
“So often, Latino workers have been in jobs that have not always been the best jobs in the community, so we need to create different outcomes there too,” said Acting Secretary Su. “The Biden-Harris administration has created a moment to build, not just our physical infrastructure, but ‘opportunity infrastructure’ that connects workers, especially those who have historically been left behind to jobs – and not just to any job, but good jobs.”
Our ELEVA program anticipates enrolling 753 participants in a pre-apprenticeship program with an 85% completion rate and 320 participants transitioning into Registered Apprenticeships. In total, this award will enable the creation of one Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), the expansion of eight RAPs and the creation of six pre-apprenticeship programs. UnidosUS was one of 43 awardees of the ABA2 grant opportunity and the only awardee located in the District of Columbia.
“UnidosUS is elated to receive this award from the Department of Labor and grateful to be able to do this in partnership with our amazing employer and nonprofit partners,” said Luis Quiñones, Deputy Vice President for Adult Education & Workforce Development at UnidosUS. “ELEVA is the natural progression of the work UnidosUS has been leading around Registered Apprenticeships for the last 3 years. We started with a project to build equity and inclusion that focused on awareness building, and we are now transitioning into community action by deploying this program, which elevates Latinx talent into emerging sectors and creates a platform for Latino families to upskill, reskill and connect with jobs that have traditionally not been for us.”
Click here to read the full announcement.
Explore more articles for the Hispanic Community here.
