U.S. Department of Labor Announces Award of More Than $80 Million to Provide Grants for Training, Safe Housing for Farmworkers

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WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the award of $80,684,142 in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) to provide career services, training services, youth services, related assistances and housing services to eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents.

These awards fall into two categories: NFJP Career Services and Training Grants, aimed to help farmworkers retain their current jobs in agriculture and to acquire new skills to start careers that provide higher wages and stable-year-round employment, and NFJP Housing Grants, which help create safe and sanitary housing for farmworkers.

The Department will award $74,562,142 for Career Services and Training Grants to fund 47 grants. The Department is also awarding $6,122,000 in NFJP Housing Grants to fund nine organizations in regions needing farmworker housing services.

“The Department of Labor is focused on investing in quality career services and training opportunities that lead to industry-recognized credentials in agriculture or other sectors, and ultimately better earnings and quality of life,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “Communities that invest in their farmworkers are investing in America’s economic strength.”

Learn more about the National Farmworker Jobs Program.

ETA administers federal job training and dislocated worker programs, federal grants to states for public employment service programs and unemployment insurance benefits. These services are provided primarily through state and local workforce development systems.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.