Delaware to spend $50 million of federal stimulus on job training for unemployed, students

Delaware will spend $50 million on job training for unemployed people and students in middle and high school from Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan, officials announced on Tuesday.

The state is using some of the $1 billion it received from the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package that Biden signed into law in March, to support mostly COVID-19 response initiatives.

Some of the money can also be used for other projects such as broadband, wastewater projects, housing and rehiring in the private sector.

The state will spend about $40 million to expand Forward Delaware, a program to help people who lost work during the pandemic get training and hiring opportunities in industries where workers are in demand such as health care, building trades, food services, transportation and tech.

Gov. John Carney's administration created Forward Delaware in 2020 with federal CARES Act money. Since it started, 3,028 people enrolled and 1,476 people completed it, according to a document the state sent to the federal government last month outlining its plans for the American Rescue Plan funds.

The state will also spend $8.3 million on a $15.8 million public-private expansion of Delaware’s Pathways, a program created in 2015 that helps students gain "real-world work experience" while in school, according to a Tuesday press release. It serves about 20,000 high schoolers.

The "Pathway 2.0" initiative will reach more than 6,000 middle schoolers and 32,000 high schoolers, about 80% of the public high school population, the release said. Students will get career training in health care, IT, finance and engineering.

The state is also spending:

• $1.5 million on health care, logistics and transportation training programs through the Department of Labor for workers impacted by the pandemic.
   
• $1.2 million on efforts to increase the number of women, minorities, and disadvantaged people in the highway construction industry through the Department of Transportation's Workforce Development Academy.
   
• $1 million on job training in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Sarah Gamard covers government and politics for Delaware Online/The News Journal. Reach her at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGamard.