Texas allocates more than $6.3M in workforce grants

Editor's Note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Twenty workforce skills training and job placement programs received more than $6.3 million in grant funding, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.

The funding came via the Texas Talent Connection grant program, an initiative designed to aid "innovative education and workforce skills training programs that lead to successful job placement, increased wages, and improved job retention," per the release. That grant program is overseen by the Texas Workforce Investment Council, a part of the Governor's Office of Economic Development & Tourism.

Collectively, more than $50 million in grants have been rewarded through the program since 2015.

The latest recipients for grant funding include:

• American YouthWorks: $350,000 for one year of YouthBuild, a pre-apprenticeship for opportunity youth project serving Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties
  • Will serve teenagers and young adults ages 16 to 24 who aren't "sufficiently engaged in employment or education"
• Bay area Houston Advanced Technology Consortium: nearly $215,000 for one year of High Demand Hidden Careers Connection project, which will encompass Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties
  • Offers job training and placement services in the medical research administrators field to unemployed participants
• Community Learning Centers, Inc.: $325,000 for first year of the Maintenance and Repair Technician Training project in Tarrant County
  • Training and employment program for veterans, unemployed, underemployed and those who come from low-income and low-skill backgrounds
• Houston's Capital IDEA, Inc.: $350,000 for second year of the Future-Focused Texas Workforce Pathways in Nursing and Technology project catering to Brazoria, chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller counties
  • Education and training services for nursing and technology fields
• JPS Health Network: Just over $347,000 for first year of the Students in Healthcare for Individual Empowerment project in Tarrant County
  • Clinical and non-clinical job opportunities, training and certifications to high school interns ages 16 to 18
• Lamar State College Port Arthur: $350,000 for second year of the Sempra LNG - Clean Energy and Fair Jobs project in Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton and Orange counties
  • Training for transportation and construction jobs for minority, underserved and rural students
• Lamar Institute of Technology: More than $247,000 for second year of the Drive Southeast Texas Talent project in Jefferson County
  • Online and in-person technical skills training for students "in need of upskilling, career counseling, and job placement"
• My Possibilities: $350,000 for second year of My Possibilities Employment Innovation School project in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall and Tarrant counties
  • Offers hands-on vocational training and certification programs to adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• North Central Texas College: $350,000 for first year of the Career Circuit: Accelerating Information Technology Careers Through Work-Based Partnership project offered to students in Cooke, Denton, Montague and Young counties
  • Hands-on experience offered to student interns with area employers in fields such as computer information systems and technology, cybersecurity, networking and data analytics and managements
• Oak Cliff Empowered: Just over $349,000 for first year of the Oak Cliff Works project in Dallas County
  • Training and certification opportunities to lower income and moderate income Dallas Independent School District high school graduates seeking jobs in the healthcare industry
• Per Scholas, Inc.: $350,000 for first year of the Creating Economic Mobility and Robust Futures Through Information Technology Training project in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fort Bend, Harris, Houston and Tarrant counties
  • Tuition-free technical skill trainings in the information technology industry
• Project ARRIBA: $350,000 for year one of Educare: Elevating Nursing and Education in El Paso project in El Paso County
  • Aiding participants in postsecondary education and helping connect graduates with secure employment in nursing, education and healthcare fields
• Restore Education: $350,000 for first year of Opportunity Youth Job Training to Success project in Bexar, Frio, Gillespie, Karnes, Kendall, McMullen, Medina and Wilson counties
  • Paid work experience and internship eligibility for opportunity youth, foster youth and justice-involved youth
• Skillpoint Alliance: $210,000 for second year of Expanding Rural Community Economic Pathways project serving Andrews, Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Dawson, Fayette, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hays, Howard, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Milan, Mills, Pecos, Reeves, San Saba, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson counties
  • Skill-building and placement opportunities for veterans and their spouses in rural communities
• South Texas College: More than $126,000 for first year of the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) Technician Assistant project in Starr and Hidalgo counties
  • Training offered throughout Rio Grande Valley for HVACR assistant industry certification
• Tarrant To and Through Partnership: More than $347,000 for first year of the Pathways to Postsecondary Success project in Tarrant and Dallas counties
  • Increasing educational and credential attainment and offering career advising and placement for economically vulnerable opportunity youth
• Texas A&M Prairie View: $350,000 for first year of the PathFinderU project in Harris, Liberty, Fort Bend and Waller counties
  • Career trainings and certifications, job opportunities available in fields of cybersecurity, carpentry, plumbing and low-voltage electrical wiring
• Texas Tech University: $350,000 for second year of the Data Science Training Program for Industry, University, and High School Students in Armstrong, Bailey, Carson, Cochran, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, King, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Terry and Yoakum counties
  • Data science training program for skills acquisition, job placement and career enhancements
• Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement: $350,000 for first year of the Rio Grande Valley Healthcare Professional Expansion Initiative project in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties
  • Grant project partners with 13 area hospitals and offers training for certification and employment in healthcare fields
• Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County: $350,000 for first year of the Neighborhood Initiative Strategy project in Tarrant County
  • Full-time workforce center staff provided within two Fort Worth neighborhood community centers to bolster work opportunities for residents 18 and older