Indiana Receives $6M “Green Jobs” Training Grant

By: Christopher S. Drewry

On January 20, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) a $6 million grant to help train Hoosier workers for new jobs in green industries of tomorrow.

The DWD will use the money to fund a statewide training program called “Indiana’s Green Energy Technology Instruction and Training” (“I GET IT”), which will provide skills training and on-the-job experience in the green energy sector to more than 2,100 idled state workers, including industrial workers and others.  The program also will establish an Advanced Energy Training Center which will be used to facilitate the state’s transition to a green economy.

In seeking the grant, the DWD agency partnered with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Ivy Tech Community College, the Southeastern Indiana Small Business Development Center, the Indiana State Building and Trades Council, as well as American StructurePoint, Inc., who will provide training in green building techniques.

In total, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded 34 green training grants, ranging from $2 million to $6 million, for a total of $190 million.  Of those grants, Indiana was the recipient of the largest grant awarded under this competitive program and is the second such grant awarded to the DWD by the U.S. Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Previously, the DWD received a $4 million grant to study the green automobile sector and build a roadmap for success by individual workers and the auto industry.

Specific details about “I GET IT” and the Advanced Energy Training Center, including the specific programs, the application process, and eligibility requirements, are expected to be announced later this spring.