Brown Announces $23.5 Million for Information Technology Worker Training Through American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $23.5 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant to the WTIA Workforce to develop information technology workforce training programs in Ohio and 10 other states: Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The funds were made possible through the American Rescue Plan, which Brown helped write and pass.

“We need to build an economy that empowers workers: that means making real investments to expand access to quality jobs and workforce training,” said Brown. “This Good Jobs Challenge investment, made possible by the American Rescue Plan, is providing communities throughout Ohio with more resources to support and develop their technology workforce.”

This program will help Ohio develop its local information technology workforce with a focus on diverse talent pools and underrepresented communities. Building on WTIA’s apprenticeship programs in the industry, the program will train workers for high-paying cloud computing jobs and increase economic competitiveness and growth.

This grant is funded through the American Rescue Plan’s Good Jobs Challenge. The program is awarding grants to 32 worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships across the country. The $500 million program will expand opportunities for more Americans to access and secure good-paying jobs by investing in innovative approaches to advance worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships.

The Good Jobs Challenge is part of a suite of American Rescue Plan programs developed by EDA to equitably distribute its $3 billion allocation. The funds will assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build a better America by accelerating economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be more resilient to future economic shocks.

The EDA is the only federal government agency focused exclusively on economic development. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to communities, and promote economic development.

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