H-1B Skills Training Grants fund projects that provide training and related activities to workers to assist them in gaining the skills and competencies needed to obtain or upgrade employment in high-growth industries or economic sectors. These grants are supported by user fees paid by employers seeking high-skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa program. The training grants aim to prepare Americans for high-skill jobs, reducing dependence on foreign labor. Funds are authorized by Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), as amended (29 USC 3224a).

Upcoming H-1B Funding Opportunity Announcements

DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program

The purpose of the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program is to fund public-private partnerships to develop, strengthen, and scale promising and evidence-based training models in H-1B industries and occupations critical to meeting the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and to maximize the impact of these investments. The United States (U.S.) will need a proficient workforce to fill the good-paying jobs created by this historic investment, and this grant program will train job seekers in advanced manufacturing; information technology; and professional, scientific, and technical services occupations that support renewable energy, transportation, and broadband infrastructure sectors. The DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program represents a down payment for the future skilled workforce needs that are being developed through the BIL investments by investing in the development and expansion of the workforce partnerships that will be needed to build equitable pathways to good infrastructure jobs.

The DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program serves dual purposes by developing and scaling existing worker-centered sector strategies to support the workforce necessary for the successful implementation of the BIL. Applicants must choose one of the following tracks for this grant program:

  1. Development Track: Developing and Implementing Local/Regional Worker-Centered Sector Strategy Programs; or
  2. Scaling Track: Scaling Effective Worker-Centered Sector Strategy Programs.

The DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) forecast is available on grants.gov. This FOA is anticipated to publish on grants.gov in March 2023.

Current H-1B Funding Opportunity Announcements

DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications for the DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program. The solicitation period closed on January 20, 2023.

The purpose of this grant opportunity is to address bottlenecks in training the United States nursing workforce and to expand and diversify the pipeline of qualified nursing professionals who can fill quality jobs in healthcare. Applicants will apply for one of two training tracks:

  1. The Nurse Education Professional Track will increase the number of nursing instructors and educators by training new or upskilling experienced nurses into the advanced postsecondary credentialing necessary to become nursing instructors or educators.

  2. The Nursing Career Pathways Track will train participants as frontline healthcare professionals and paraprofessionals, including direct care workers, to advance along a career pathway and attain postsecondary credentials needed for middle- to high-skilled nursing occupations.

This grant program is grounded in the principles of worker-centered sector strategies, where employers; education and training providers; labor unions, labor-management partnerships, and other worker organizations; workforce development entities; and workers collaboratively address nursing occupation needs in real-time and prepare for the future of work with a focus on equity, job quality, and attracting, training, hiring, and retaining skilled workers, especially from underserved communities.

For more information about the H-1B Nursing Expansion Grant Program, please see the following:

 

Current H-1B Grant Programs

H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program

The H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program is designed to alleviate healthcare workforce shortages by creating sustainable employment and training programs in healthcare occupations (including behavioral and mental healthcare) serving rural populations that are scalable and replicable after this funding expires. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for healthcare workers, particularly in rural areas where there was already an acute need. In January 2021, DOL awarded $40 million in grants to 17 public-private partnerships across the country, to increase the number of individuals training in healthcare occupations that directly impact patient care and address rural healthcare workforce shortages. Expanding employment and training models for the healthcare industry will help individuals gain the skills necessary to provide needed services, fill vacancies, and allow employers to find skilled workers more readily.

For more information about the H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program, please see the following:

Please email us with questions about the H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program.

H-1B One Workforce Grant Program

The H-1B One Workforce Grant Program is designed to develop replicable, comprehensive workforce strategies for preparing the workforce for middle- to high-skilled H-1B occupations within the information technology, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors.

These grants will build proofs of concept of innovative training models that can be replicated by the broader workforce system. In January 2021, DOL awarded $145 million in grants to 19 public-private partnerships across the country, which must build support for a common vision for responding to the workforce challenges within their state and economic regions, ensuring that their projects complement and leverage, but do not duplicate existing programs. By forging public-private partnerships—H-1B One Workforce Partnerships—applicants will bring together industry and employers, education and training providers, the workforce system, state and local government, and other entities that will work collaboratively to align resources in response to employer demand and to offer novel education and job training solutions that generate positive outcomes and results.

For more information about the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program, please see:

For questions about the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program, please email us.

Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap

Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap grants promote apprenticeships as a significant workforce solution in filling current job vacancies and closing the skills gap between employer workforce needs and the skills of the current workforce. The grant program places a heavy emphasis on private sector partnership, with a corresponding 45 percent match of federal funds awarded. In February 2020, DOL awarded nearly $100 million in grants to 28 public-private partnerships across the country, which are supporting the large-scale expansion of apprenticeship to industry sectors and occupations that have not traditionally deployed apprenticeships, such as advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology. These also include in-demand cybersecurity professions and emerging occupations involving artificial intelligence.

For more information about the H-1B Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap Program, please see:

For questions about the H-1B Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap Grant Program, please email us.

H-1B Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies

Scaling Apprenticeship grants promote the large-scale expansion of apprenticeships across the nation by supporting the training of thousands of apprentices in new or expanded programs in key industry sectors and by assisting partners in their efforts to create and scale the new or expanded apprenticeship programs. Industry partners will provide partial matching funds to the institutions to develop in-demand skills as part of these programs. In June 2019, DOL awarded nearly $184 million in grants to 23 public-private partnerships in local and state service areas across the country, which ultimately will expand their apprenticeship programs to reach a national scale.

For more information about the H-1B Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies Program, please see:

For questions about the H-1B Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies Grant Program, please email us.