Labor Council’s Training Program Awarded $100,000 Green Jobs Federal Grant

Award Will Allow Pre-Apprenticeship Program’s Curriculum to Hone In On Green Job Opportunities

SAN DIEGO – (November 20, 2009) – The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council announced today a Green Job Capacity Building Award for $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment Training Administration to include new opportunities for students enrolled in the Labor Council’s Training Program.

The Green Jobs Capacity Building Award from the Department of Labor enables the Labor Council to expand its current job training program by offering the most current pre-apprenticeship training and skills instruction in various green-sector jobs.

“We are proud to have the opportunity to help in rebuilding our economy with careers in the new green economy,” said Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. “Good careers start with great training programs like the Labor Council’s pre-apprenticeship courses. We are so happy to see that the Obama Administration and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis agree.”

Funding from the Green Job Capacity Building Award will allow the Labor Council to:

• Greatly expand and refocus our current curriculum with a greater emphasis on green jobs
• Train Labor Council staff on the latest in green trends, current green legislation, job openings and vital requisite competencies.
• Upgrade our existing equipment to better provide cutting edge curriculum, relevant tools, supplies and software so that our trainees can learn the skills that will take them into a wide variety of emerging green careers.

The Green Jobs Capacity Building Award, titled “Growing Green,” will be of significant benefit to the Labor Council’s existing facilities. The funding will provide the Labor Council with an unprecedented opportunity to revamp its internal assets and prepare trainees with the latest in cutting edge technology and green oriented workforce training.

The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, includes 127 unions representing 189,000 workers in the region. For more information, visit www.unionyes.org.