FILE - The inside of a computer is seen on Feb 23, 2019, in Jersey City, N.J.
Jenny Kane / AP
State leaders say Oregon needs more skilled workers in health care, manufacturing, and technology — and $42 million in grant funding will flow to over 60 projects aimed at recruiting and retaining those workers.
It’s the third and final round of funding from a $200 million package approved by Oregon lawmakers in 2022, called Future Ready Oregon. It uses federal COVID relief funding paired with state general funds to bolster workforce training. Part of the package includes Workforce Ready Grants, which are awarded to community organizations running projects geared toward communities of color, women, people with disabilities, veterans, Oregonians living in rural areas, tribal members and LGBTQ+ Oregonians.
“Individuals, particularly those who have been marginalized and underserved, face barriers to accessing and completing education and training that is needed to connect to high wage, high demand jobs,” Jennifer Purcell, director of Future Ready Oregon, told OPB. “And at the same time, Oregon’s employers really need access to a diverse, trained workforce.”
Purcell said the investment from the Legislature focuses on both those goals. Workforce Ready Grants are given to community college and university programs, local workforce development boards, school districts and other community organizations. The money is meant to support Oregonians looking for training and education in one of three key areas: health care, manufacturing, or technology.
Oregon’s health care sector has added nearly 17,000 jobs over the last year, according to the state employment department. Meanwhile, state economists predict that the semiconductor industry alone — which includes jobs both in manufacturing and technology — will likely need thousands more workers in the years to come.
The state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission is administering this final round package of investments included in the Future Ready Oregon legislation. Purcell said money from all three rounds of grants funding more than 90 projects must be spent by the end of 2026 to meet federal guidelines.
“Learning through those projects will continue through our partners project implementation administration, and oversight for those grant funded projects through 2026,” she said. “And it’s really our objective to identify promising practices as well as replicable and scalable strategies.”
Programs that won grant funding in the third round cover a vast geographic area and a range of workforce training priorities, such as:
- Klamath Union High School was awarded $440,843 for a new health occupations program for its students.
- Bushnell University School of Nursing was awarded $1 million for its program training bachelor’s degree-level nurses for work in rural Lane County hospitals.
- Clackamas Community College was awarded $1 million for its partnership with 20 organizations to train workers in a variety of manufacturing careers.
- Afghan Support Network was awarded $623,902 for its IT-certification training program for Afghan refugees in Oregon.
