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U.S. Department of Labor: Key Grant Programs

Agency Description

The U.S Department of Labor (DOL) seeks to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

Working people in rural America face comparatively high rates of long-term unemployment and often lack access to training opportunities to develop skills aligned with critical industry sectors. The Department of Labor’s rural investments are helping rural Americans find good jobs and training in the communities they call home.

Discretionary Grant Programs

Below are brief descriptions of DOL grant programs.

For more information on these opportunities, follow the links in each description, which lead to individual grant program pages in the Grant Applicant Toolkit’s DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard, where you can search federal grant opportunities at USDOT and other federal agencies that can aid communities in meeting their transportation infrastructure needs.

Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs H-1B Skills Training Grant

The DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs H-1B Skills Training Grant Program represents a down payment for the future skilled workforce needs that are being developed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (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.

Learn more about this grant opportunity on the DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard’s Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs H-1B Skills Training Grant page.

Critical Sector Job Quality Grants

The purpose of the Critical Sector Job Quality Grants demonstration program is to support transformative efforts to improve job quality and availability of good jobs, particularly for the benefit of historically marginalized populations and communities that have experienced barriers to employment in good jobs. 

Learn more about this grant opportunity on the DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard’s Critical Sector Job Quality Grants page.

Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO)

The purpose of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program is to provide technical assistance (TA) to employers (which may include public sector entities) and labor unions in the United States and its territories to encourage employment of women in Registered Apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations (A/NTO).

Learn more about this grant opportunity on the DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations page.

Workforce Opportunities for Rural Communities (WORC) Round 5: A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border Regions

The WORC Initiative provides grant funds to enable impacted communities to develop local and regional workforce development solutions aligned with existing economic development strategies and community partnerships to promote new, sustainable job opportunities and long-term economic vitality. 

Learn more about this grant opportunity on the DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard’s Workforce Opportunities for Rural Communities Round 5 page.