Grant Details

Washington's Job Skills Program (JSP) is training customized to meet employers' specific needs. Training is delivered to new or current employees at the work site or in a classroom.

JSP training is a tool for enhancing the growth of Washington's economy and increasing employment opportunities. JSP provides funding for training in regions with high unemployment rates and high levels of poverty. It also supports areas with new and growing industries; locations where the local population does not have the skills needed to stay employed; and those regions impacted by economic changes that cause large-scale job loss.

A central focus of JSP is to provide training and employment for those at risk of losing their jobs due to technological or economic changes.

Job Skills Program projects must meet one or more of the following:

• Provides short-term training which has been designated for specific industries;
• Provides training for prospective employees before a new operation opens or when existing industry expands;
• Includes training or retraining for workers already employed to avoid dislocation, or where upgrading of existing employees would create new vacancies for unemployed persons;
• Serve an area with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged persons and high unemployment;
• Promotes the growth of industry clusters;
• Serves an area where there is a shortage of skilled labor to meet job demands; and
• Promotes the location of new industry in areas affected by economic dislocation

Priority for funding may be given to applications:

• Proposing training that provides college credit or leads to a recognized industry credential;
• From firms in strategic industry clusters as identified by the state or lo cal area;
• Proposing coordination with other cluster-based programs or initiatives including but not limited to, industry skill panels, centers of excellence, innovation partnership zones, state-supported cluster growth grants, and local cluster-based economic development initiatives;
• From consortia of colleges or consortia of employers;
• Proposing increased capacity for education institutions that can be made available to industry and students beyond the grant recipients.