Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced a $13,818,298.92 grant, funded through the CARES Act, from U.S. Department of Education to the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation. This grant will fund the Supporting and Advancing Nevada’s Dislocated Individuals project (Project SANDI), a program designed to help dislocated and underemployed workers by modernizing Nevada’s workforce system and expanding remote access to accelerated trainings for in-demand occupations using digital platforms.
“I’m dedicated to ensuring Nevadans have the resources they need to find and secure good-paying jobs, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has left many workers furloughed or out of work. This grant funding will help Project SANDI provide programs for everyone from furloughed workers looking to improve their skillset in their existing career path to Nevadans looking to re-train, explore advanced degrees or seek help navigating new career options. When I voted in support of the CARES Act, I promised to put Nevada workers first, and this grant funding does just that.”
BACKGROUND:
The U.S. Department of Education’s Education Fund – Reimaging Workforce Preparation Grants Program is designed to expand short-term postsecondary programs and work-based learning programs in order to get Americans back to work and help small businesses return to being our country’s engines for economic growth. This grant is partially supported by funding from the CARES Act, which Senator Cortez Masto supported.
Nevada’s Project SANDI will modernize Nevada’s current workforce system by building a Skills Decoder that translates work experience into credentials, certificates, and degree programs to eventually automate the process. It will expand accelerated degree programs and trainings in Nevada’s priority sectors, i.e., health care, advanced manufacturing, IT, and the use of digital platforms to offer remote training for in-demand occupations. It will build an enhanced career navigation tool that integrates existing career guidance systems, case management interfaces, and online learning. It will also develop an online, self-paced entrepreneurship module that is embedded in training/degree programs in Nevada.
Key partners will include the Office of Workforce Innovation, Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Nevada System of Higher Education, College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows College, Western Nevada College Nevada State Library, Nevada Connections Development Board, Nevada Works Development Board, Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, Nevada Department of Education, and Nevada Grow.
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