$6.5 Million in Apprenticeship Grants Available

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$6.5 Million in Apprenticeship Grants Available

Last week, the NJDOL announced $6.5 million in available funding under the Growing Apprenticeship In Nontraditional Sectors (GAINS) and the NJ Builders’ Utilization Initiative for Labor Diversity (NJ BUILD) Women & Minority Veterans in Construction Trades programs.

These programs foster the creation and expansion of apprenticeships throughout the state of NJ – which has seen a 92% increase in registered apprenticeship programs since 2018.

The Growing Apprenticeship In Nontraditional Sectors (GAINS) program, with $3.5 million available, “seeks to develop new and existing apprenticeship programs, create registered apprenticeship programs in high-growth industries, and promote equality of opportunity, upward mobility, and economic fairness.”

More than two-thirds of participants in the GAINS program are people of color or women, twice the average among all apprenticeship programs in the state. Today, women account for 67% of GAINS apprentices, more than double the number of female apprentices in NJ in 2018.

The previous round of GAINS grants was awarded to five grantees that onboarded 187 apprentices in occupations such as Nurse Assistants, Cook, Heating and Air Conditioning Installers, Truck Drivers, Laboratory Technicians, and Medical Assistants – among others. Currently, more than half of GAINS apprentices are in the healthcare sector.

“Thanks to the GAINS grant, we have been able to support 14 hospitals in the state. This grant has helped us ensure a smooth transition into practice for new nurses graduating in New Jersey,” said Dr. Edna Cadmus, Executive Director of the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing and Clinical Professor at the Rutgers University School of Nursing, a grantee of a previous round of GAINS funding. “New nurses felt supported during a turbulent time in healthcare.”

The NJ BUILD Women and Minority Veterans in Construction Trades program, with $3 million available, “seeks to connect National Guard, Reserve, retired and transitioning active-duty military members to quality career and training opportunities in the building and construction industry, and to eliminate economic barriers associated with investing in skills training and work readiness.”

The NJ BUILD program offers women and minority veterans employment training and/or placement into registered apprenticeship programs within the building and construction trades.

With the announcement of these new grants, these tuition-free programs may provide a valuable opportunity for those who qualify.

The NJ DOL will hold technical assistance workshops for GAINS on September 27 and October 5, and for NJ BUILD on October 4. Applications for both grants are due October 28. Click here for complete information on each grant, including how to register for the technical assistance workshops and other important deadlines.



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