In a bid to address any shortage of foreign H-1B workers, the United States announced it would invest $150 million (over Rs.1,100 crore) in the training of middle-to-high-skilled H-1B occupations in key sectors of the US economy.
The goal of the training grants is to prepare Americans for high skill jobs, reducing the dependence on foreign labor, said the US Department of Labor.
The H-1B One Workforce Grant Program is designed to develop replicable, comprehensive workforce strategies. It will be implemented to upskill the present workforce and train a new generation of workers to grow the future workforce within key sectors in the U.S. economy, including information technology and cyber security, advanced manufacturing and transportation.
The coronavirus pandemic has not only caused disruptions in the labour market, but also forced many education and training providers and employers to rethink how to deliver training, the department said in a statement.
In this grant program, the Department’s Employment and Training Administration set out to streamline funding and resources to encourage a more integrated workforce system that will encourage applicants to provide an innovative mix of training strategies, leveraging innovative modes of training delivery, including online, distance and other technology-enabled learning.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is challenging communities to think as ‘One Workforce,’” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch.
“In the current job environment, it is critical that local organisations work as one instead of independent parts of a process. Our goal is to create seamless community partnerships to build career pathways for local job seekers to enter middle- to high-skilled occupations in cyber security, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors.”
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