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).

Current H-1B Funding Opportunity Announcements

DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications for the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program. Applications are due July 7, 2023.

The purpose of the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program is to fund public-private partnerships to develop, implement, and scale worker-centered sector strategy training programs that train and prepare the skilled workforce needed to meet the demands of the sizeable infrastructure investments made through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), formally known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. To maximize the impact of the BIL investment and other investments such as the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, 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. To achieve the goals of the FOA, applicants are required to propose grant projects that address one of the following two training tracks. Both tracks are expected to serve historically marginalized and underserved populations and communities.

  1. Development Track: Developing and Implementing Local/Regional Worker-Centered Sector Strategy Programs: The goal of the Development Track is to establish local and regional partnerships that will foster the implementation of an effective, worker-centered sector training program in one or more infrastructure-related sectors.
     
  2. Scaling Track: Scaling Effective Worker-Centered Sector Strategy Programs: The goal of the Scaling Track is to invest in established partnerships that have demonstrated effectiveness in implementing sector strategy training programs in one or more infrastructure-related sectors.

For more information about the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program, please see the following:

 

Current H-1B Grant Programs

DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program

The DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program will address bottlenecks in training the United States nursing workforce and boost the nation’s healthcare system through two training tracks: 1) Nurse Education Professional Track, which will increase the number of nursing instructors and educators; and 2) Nursing Career Pathways Track, which will expand and diversify the pipeline of nursing professionals who can fill quality nursing jobs. In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded approximately $78 million in grants to 25 public-private partnerships across the country. 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. These public-private partnerships will focus on equity, job quality, and attracting, training, hiring, and retaining skilled workers, especially from underserved communities.

For more information about the DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program, please see the following:

Please email us with questions about the DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program.

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.