EARN awards 28 implementation grants

A total of 28 partnerships have been awarded more than $5 million in implementation grants as a part of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s EARN (Employment Advancement Right Now) program.

Awards went to partnerships in a wide variety of sectors — biotechnology, construction, cybersecurity, green business, health care, health IT, retail, hospitality, logistics and transportation and manufacturing.

Health care and manufacturing were the big winners, each securing five grants.

DLLR announced in December the winners of its planning grants, which included 29 partnerships. Of those, all but three received implementation grants.

“These awards reflect the strength of those proposals,” said Elisabeth Sachs, who is running the EARN program under DLLR.

The planning grants averaged about $22,000 per grantee. The implementation awards pack a heftier punch at an average amount of $179,302. Larger awards went to the programs that will reach more workers.

Most of the winners will begin their training programs in the next six months, Sachs said, and one will even get started next month.

Two partnerships did not win planning grants but won implementation grants — Washington County Manufacturing Partnership and Maritime Transportation & Logistics.

All EARN grant applicants must be a group of organizations that includes two employers from a particular target industry and two other relevant partners, such as educational institutions, nonprofits, local workforce boards, labor unions or other training providers.

The intention is to create sector-based workforce training options for job seekers, which are designed to fit the needs of employers in growing industries.

The program asks, “What are the skills gaps, and how are you going to fill those?” Sachs said.

In a study from the Opportunity Collaborative, released Monday, researchers identified several categories of barriers to employment that people in the Baltimore area face, one of which was accessing affordable training. One of the study’s major recommendations was to implement sector-based workforce training.

“I think the collaborative nature of sector-based work can also inform solving some of these other barriers,” said Sachs. “You can have that same collaborative thinking.”

The winners of the implementation grants are below. (Partnership name in bold)

BIOTrain Montgomery College

Biotechnology Baltimore Strategic Industry Partnership Baltimore BioWorks, Inc. and BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, Inc.

Prince George’s and Charles Counties Construction Industry Finishing Trades Institute

BIM Technology for the Incumbent Worker in the Construction Industry Towson University Division of Innovation and Applied Research

Project Jump Start Construction Industry Partnership Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF)

IT Center for Excellence:  Preparing Rural Western Maryland for the Future Allegany College

Central Maryland Cyber/IT Consortium Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation

Water and Wastewater Career Development Partnership of Central Maryland Maryland Environmental Service

Baltimore Green Strategic Industry Partnership Civic Works

Healthcare Workers RX for Employability Montgomery Business Development Corporation

Ready to Care: An Eastern Shore Partnership to Train Healthcare Workers Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center

Baltimore Healthcare Partnership Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) and Center for Urban Families

Southern Maryland Healthcare Industry Alliance Tri County Council

Healthcare Partnership of Prince George’s and Charles Counties Associated Black Charities

m-Health Focused Health Tech SIP Howard Community College

Health Information Technology Strategic Industry Partnership Community College of Baltimore County

Building Employer-led Alliances for Careers in Hospitality – Eastern Shore (BEACHES) Wor-Wic Community College

Purple Line Skills Training Partnership CASA de Maryland, Inc.

Baltimore Regional Culinary/ Hospitality Strategic Industry Partnership Humanim

Susquehanna Transportation and Logistics Partnership Cecil College

Marine Trades Industry Partnership Marine Trade Association of Maryland

Maritime Transportation & Logistics Maryland New Directions

Mid Maryland (MOVE) Transportation & Logistics Montgomery College and Hagerstown Community College

Susquehanna Manufacturing CoalitionSusquehanna Workforce Network, Inc.

Washington County Manufacturing Partnership Volvo Group Trucks Operations of Mack Trucks, Inc.

Manufacturing Workforce Partnership of Frederick County Wright Manufacturing

Maryland Manufacturing Boot Camp Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Maryland Offshore Wind Strategic Industry Partnership Humanim