(El Paso, Texas) Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Congressman Silvestre Reyes this morning announced the award of nearly 12 million dollars for green job training in Texas. The money is part of nearly $100 million in green jobs training grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) announced today for different states.

Secretary Solis was in El Paso on September 26, accepting an invitation from Congressman Silvestre Reyes.  Secretary Solis met with representatives from various local labor and business organizations at a round table meeting at the Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande Norman Haley Employment Center at 300 E. Main Street. El Paso Electricians JATC was represented at the meeting and is just one partner that will see benefits from today’s announcements.  “This is good for skilled workers in renewable energy in the southwest part of the country where this type of energy is available,” said El Paso Electricians JATC Director Mike Waldo.

Details on the money awarded based on competitive criteria and affecting our region are below:
1. Grantee: International Training Institute for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry
- Amount: $ 4,995,188
- Areas Affected: MI: Detroit, Livonia, Ann Arbor, Warren, Wayne; OH: Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown; MO: St. Louis; Illinois (E. St. Louis); CA: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Long Beach, Riverside, San Bernardino; NM: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces; TX: El Paso, Lubbock
2. Grantee: Austin Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC)
- Amount: $4,842,424
- Areas Affected: Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande supported regional applications submitted and will assist with customer referrals.
“We fully support the training efforts in high demand industries like renewable energy,” said Workforce Solutions CEO Lorenzo Reyes. “This is great news for our customers.”

More ARRA money for El Paso pending:
Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande has hosted two ARRA community workshops to facilitate collaboration on stimulus grants and other efforts to draw additional funds to the area. As a result of those sessions, five grant applications were submitted to the Department of Labor (DOL), two of which focused on green jobs.
One of the grants submitted involves an Energy Training Partnership submitted by El Paso Electricians JATC in partnership with Workforce Solutions. The 4.9 million dollars will be used to help 1,500 workers (800 new hires, 700 incumbents) upgrade or learn new skills in solar and wind energy. The grant will have a regional impact as it also includes Southern New Mexico, Tucson and Lubbock.

A second grant, Pathways Out of Poverty, requests nearly 4 million dollars for Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande to serve 240 hard to serve workforce customers like veterans, offenders and job seekers with limited English or no GED with On-the-Job-Training or apprenticeships in the renewable energy industry.
Notification is pending on both submissions.

A third installation of ARRA is scheduled for January 25 from 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at the Norman Haley Employment Center located at 300 East Main. Those interested in attending can register by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . It is FREE.