Official Site of The State of New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 27, 2023

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has announced $3 million in available funding under the New Jersey Builders Utilization Initiative for Labor Diversity’s (NJBUILD) Women and Minorities in Construction Trades grant program to foster training opportunities for minorities and women in construction and related trades.

NJBUILD promotes outreach and occupational skills training such as pre-apprenticeship training, registered apprenticeships, and on-the-job-training for women and minority residents to prepare them for entry in a Registered Apprenticeship or employment in a construction-related job. The program also assists public works contractors, businesses, and trade unions in meeting their workforce needs, and also provides reimbursement of wages and related costs. Applicants are required to offer quality support services to ensure success for placement into employment.

“NJBUILD eliminates economic barriers to occupation training, workforce readiness, and employability skills instruction, helping workers grow and flourish in a gainful career,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Our department’s top priority has been to ensure all New Jerseyans can access clear paths to high-quality employment.”

Eligible applicants include public training providers, community-based organizations, labor organizations, employers/contractors, public or private non-profit agencies, county or municipal governments, and trade organizations that represent a particular trade, group of trades, contractors, or employers.

“The NJBUILD Women and Minorities grant allowed 16 magnificent women the opportunity to, in some cases, change their lives and put them into a position to be more success professionally while also impacting them personally in a positive manner,” said Nelson Ribon, Project Manager of the Women’s Project Management in Construction program for NJBUILD grantee Apex Solutions Group.

Fany Dominguez Leon, a program graduate, said: “[This program] is actually something I could do and that was not something that I had heavily considered until I was offered the opportunity to be in this training.”

Program graduate Gabrielle Velasquez added: “My goals and aspirations have evolved because I think there’s a little bit more clarity and more structure in what I want to do; and now that I’ve taken this training, they are a little bit more attainable for me.”

NJBUILD was created under P.L. 2009, chapters 313 and 335, and is funded by contributions from state agencies, independent authorities, and colleges and universities of one-half of one percent of the total cost of public works construction contracts of $1,000,000 or greater.

Key dates:

September 27, 1 p.m., and October 3, 1 p.m.: Technical assistance workshops. Pre-registration required at least one business day prior to each session. Register here: 9/27; 10/3.

October 20: Letter of intent due by noon.

October 27: Application due by noon.

For complete information on the NJBUILD grant, please visit: https://www.nj.gov/labor/research-info/grants.shtml

For more information on the New Jersey Office of Apprenticeship, please visit: https://www.nj.gov/labor/career-services/apprenticeship/index.shtml

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