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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202)693-4650
The U.S. Department of Labor is awarding $12.4 million in grants to
train American workers for high-skill jobs in places where companies are facing
labor shortages in those fields. The grants are funded by a portion of the $500
fee employers pay for each visa to import temporary workers from other
countries.
"We have a growing crisis in the technology sector because of the
shortage of trained workers," President Clinton said. "Some companies are
looking to foreign countries to fill the gap. We have workers here who can and
should be trained for those jobs. These funds are designed for just that
purpose."
"The two fields where we see the most applications for foreign workers
are information technology and health care," Secretary of Labor Alexis M.
Herman said. "We have to address the skill shortages and ensure that American
workers have the first opportunity for these high-paying jobs."
Secretary Herman said the grants will provide training for 3,000 workers
and are going to:
Regional Employment Board of Hampden County in Springfield, Mass., $1.5
million; NOVA Private Industry Council in Sunnyvale, Calif., $1.3 million; Pima
County Community Services Department in Tucson, $1.5 million; the city of
Chicago, $1.5 million; Seattle-King County Private Industry Council, $1.5
million; the Workplace, Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., $1.5 million; Philadelphia
Workforce Development Corp., Inc., $563,057; New Hampshire Job Training Council
in Concord, $1.5 million; Prince Georges Workforce Services Corp., Landover,
Md., $1.5 million.
The so-called "H-1B" visa is a six-year, temporary visa for foreigners
with college degrees. A $500 fee is required for each visa. Employers have
increasingly used this program as demand for information technology workers
grows.
In coming months, the Labor Department will issue another $40 million in
skills grants to communities around the country.
The funded projects train workers for jobs that are in demand in the
local market. Usually, local businesses that need workers help to develop the
training in partnership with government agencies and colleges. For instance,
Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems are partners in the California project and
Bell Atlantic is one of several corporate partners in the Maryland grant
program.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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