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Cohen Announces More Than $4 Million for Job Training Programs at Southwest Tennessee Community College

September 29, 2014

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Southwest Tennessee Community College has won $4,041,439 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to develop, expand, and enhance innovative career training programs in the healthcare, transportation, and logistics industries. Today’s funding comes through the DOL’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program, a 4-year, $2 billion initiative signed into law by President Barack Obama.

“This significant infusion of federal funding will help Southwest Tennessee Community College prepare Memphians with the skills they need to gain good-paying jobs in our modern economy,” said Congressman Cohen. “I am pleased to announce this important step towards improving the Memphis economy and creating jobs in our city.”

This funding is part of more than $7.3 million awarded to three Tennessee institutions today. Awardees will use this funding for a variety of activities including: hiring and/or training instructors to expand their capacity to offer in-demand courses or certifications, leveraging online learning to accelerate skills attainments, developing new curricula and training models to add additional classes and certifications, purchasing new equipment to ensure students train on what employers actually use, designing new programs based on the needs of local employers, and helping participants gain the expertise needed to attain higher-skilled, higher-paying jobs.

The TAACCCT Grant Program is a DOL partnership with the U.S. Department of Education that provides community colleges and other eligible institutions of higher education with funds to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in 2 years or less and prepare participants for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations.