The Murphy administration is doling out grants to foster apprenticeship opportunities that it says will add more than 1,000 apprentices to the 8,500 already participating in nearly 1,000 programs across New Jersey, as of January 2020.
On Friday, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development said 12 organizations would receive more than $3 million through NJDOL’s Growing Apprenticeship in Non-Traditional Sectors grant, with a partial assist from federal funding.
Asaro-Angelo
“Through the GAINS grant program, we are developing apprenticeship programs in a wide variety of in-demand fields, as evidenced by this diverse group of grantees,” NJDOL Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said in a prepared statement. “By continually expanding this pipeline for talent development, we’re giving more job-seekers the opportunity to earn while they learn, and we’re providing businesses with the skilled workers they need to thrive in this state.”
The jobs created from the GAINS program, which is administered by the New Jersey Office of Apprenticeship, will find all participating apprentices making $15 per hour, or more, NJDOL said.
Wage reimbursements up to 50 percent are provided through the grant program for up to $8,000 for the first six months of employment for newly hired apprenticeships, NJDOL said, in addition to offsetting costs for training.
Estimates from the department put the number of apprentices and employers supported by GAINS funding programs in Fiscal year 2019 and FY 2020 at 1,996 and 137, respectively.
GAINS Grants were awarded to:
- American Training Center – medical assistant – $219,352
- Associated Fire Protection Inc. – special hazards/fire suppression – $159,999
- Bergen Community College – pharmacy technician, certified nursing assistant – $500,000
- Kaizen Technologies – certified medical administrator, certified medical assistant – $375,984
- Middlesex County College – certified nurse assistant, electromechanical technician – $82,960
- N.J. Department of Health – community health workers – $499,754
- N.J. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs – telecommunications technician, computer support specialist, desk support technician – $28,000
- Ocean County College – addiction counseling, hotel management – $161,910
- Rowan College at Burlington County – HVACR – $74,507
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – RBHS registered nurse – $500,000
- Saint Peter’s University – cybersecurity analyst, cybersecurity engineer, data scientist – $252,367
- WTIA – cybersecurity analyst, software developer, IT business analyst – $215,400
