U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $6.4 Million to Develop Healthcare and Construction Workforce Training Program in Northern New Mexico Through American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $6.4 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant to North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, Santa Fe, New Mexico, to create the Northern New Mexico Workforce Integration Network (WIN), a healthcare, building and construction workforce training program.

This program will create pathways into high-paying jobs in healthcare and construction with a focus on Latino, Indigenous, and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals recovering from substance use disorder. With its network of local community colleges, unions, and employers, the program will deploy a mobile classroom to provide high-quality classroom training and apprenticeships to hard-to-reach populations.

“President Biden's American Rescue Plan funding through the Good Jobs Challenge will provide necessary investments that will not only build economic resilience, but ensure economic prosperity for individual Americans,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA grant will help support and address inequities among the Latino and Indigenous communities in Northern New Mexico through quality training, while also bolstering the healthcare and construction industries.”

“The Good Jobs Challenge is excited to bring together diverse partners and local leaders from Northern New Mexico to build workforce training programs” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “Led by North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, this program is creating new opportunities for Latino, Indigenous, and formerly incarcerated individuals to secure good-paying jobs across the region and building a strong workforce to support critical industries.”

“When Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, we created more opportunities for Americans to enter back into the workforce through programs like the Good Jobs Challenge,” said Senator Martin Heinrich. “This federal funding will help individuals access the type of training needed to secure good-paying health care and construction jobs, increasing economic security and sustainability for more New Mexicans.”

“Job training programs are critical to expanding access to good-paying jobs, and as our communities continue to recover from the pandemic,” said Senator Ben Ray Luján. “I’m pleased this robust investment from the American Rescue Plan will deliver more than $6 million to Northern New Mexico to develop job training programs in critical industries like health care and construction.”

“The most significant investments we can make are in our gente,” said Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03). “This $6.4 million investment will help ensure underserved New Mexicans have the skills they need to secure high-paying jobs and provide for themselves and their families.”

This grant is funded through the American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge. The program awarded grants to 32 worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships across the country. The $500 million program is expanding opportunities for more Americans to access and secure good-paying jobs by investing in innovative approaches to advance worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships.

The 32 awardee projects were selected from a competitive pool of 509 applicants. By partnering with stakeholders such as labor unions, community colleges and industry, these projects will solve for local talent needs, increase the supply of trained workers and help workers secure jobs in 15 key industries that are essential to U.S. supply chains, global competitiveness, and regional development. Through a holistic, integrated partnership approach, these projects will provide tangible opportunities and security for American workers, focusing on serving and supporting a broad range of underserved communities and connecting workers with the training, skills, and support services needed to successfully secure a good job. For more information on the grantees, please visit our fact sheet. (PDF)

The Good Jobs Challenge is part of a suite of American Rescue Plan programs developed by EDA to equitably distribute its $3 billion allocation to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build a better America by accelerating economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be more resilient to future economic shocks.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.