Rep. Pascrell Announces Launch of Passaic County Community College Job Training Program

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) was joined by Passaic County Community College (PCCC) President Steven Rose in announcing PCCC's newest job training program called the Northeast Resiliency Consortium (NRC). The program, which is funded by a nearly $9 million federal U.S. Department of Labor grant, will train and place individuals into high demand occupations in Healthcare, Information Technology, and Energy/Environmental sectors and help ensure that our workforce continues to meet real-time demand for labor.

"I'm thrilled to announce the launch of PCCC's newest job training program, which marks a key investment in our nation's workforce," said Rep. Pascrell, a former educator who now serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and House Budget Committee. "The NRC program will train and place individuals in fields such as healthcare and information technology while helping to build a more resilient workforce for the 21st century. Community colleges play a vital role in training workers to meet the needs of employers today. Through this federal grant, PCCC and their partner colleges are poised to take their work to even greater heights and help define what resiliency means for individuals, employers and entire communities grappling with disaster and economic transformation."

Rep. Pascrell today also announced $169 million in federal U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grants to help Americans struggling with long-term unemployment find work. The Ready to Work Partnership supports innovative collaborations between employers, non-profit organizations, and federal job training programs to help connect ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs. The New Jersey Council of County Colleges received at $10 million grant through this program.

Last year, the DOL awarded $15 million in federal grants to twelve New Jersey community colleges as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program, which provides community colleges and other eligible institutions of higher education with funds to expand career training programs--and enhance their capacity to create institutional transformation.

PCCC received $8,998,233 from TAACCCT to serve as lead in a 7-college, multistate training program to will prepare Trade Adjusted Assistance workers (TAA) that were displaced as a result of increased imports or shifts in production out of the United States, veterans and other individuals for employment in three of the region's leading industry sectors. The NRC project is expected to serve more than 3,400 participants by accelerating learning, using advance technologies, linking employers each step of the way, and providing innovative support services to ensure completion and success.

Just last month, Bergen County Community College (BCCC) was also awarded was awarded more than $6 million as part of the final round of TAA grants to serve as lead of a statewide consortium which will develop a regional healthcare career pathways system that builds on partnerships between local employers, educational institutions and the workforce system. PCCC was awarded over $800,000 as a member of this consortium, to help train the next generation of New Jersey's healthcare workforce.

PCCC's first in a series of job training programs will focus on preparing students for high demand jobs in the healthcare field, which is predicted to become the largest employer in Passaic County for skilled workers. PCCC is partnering in the initiative with St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson, as well with other healthcare and job-training organizations in a dual effort to prepare for future job demand and to address the current unemployment rate in Passaic County, the highest in New Jersey.

"We have always had a strong relationship with PCCC and are excited to be involved in these two innovative workforce-development initiatives. By intentionally connecting the needs of employers in the design and development of certificate and degree programs, PCCC is working to ensure a greater level of success in future employment--for the job seeker and the employer, " noted Nicole Moody St. Joseph's Healthcare System Director of Recruitment/Retention.

TAACCCT provides community colleges and other eligible institutions of higher education with funds to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in two years or less, are suited for workers who are eligible for training under the TAA for Workers program, and prepare program participants for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations.

In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act amended the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the TAACCCT Grant Program. On March 30, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which included $2 billion over four years to fund the TAACCCT program.

DOL is implementing the TAACCCT program in partnership with the Department of Education. In total, $450 million in grants were awarded this last round across the country.

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