REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contracts to Provide Employment and Training Services for NOVA Ready to Work Grant
Report
BACKGROUND
NOVA, as the lead in a collaborative of five local workforce investment boards (WIBs), submitted a proposal to the U. S. Department of Labor in June in response to its solicitation for applications for its H-1B Ready to Work Partnership grants. This program is designed to provide long-term unemployed workers with training and other services leading to employment in occupations and industries for which employers use H-1B visas to hire foreign workers. The grant requires that participants have been unemployed for at least 27 weeks at the time of their enrollment into the grant.
NOVA was recently announced as one of 23 grantees nationwide (and one of two in California) in the grant competition. The award is $5,293,884 to serve 1,273 job seekers during the grant term of November 1, 2014 through October 31, 2018. NOVA is the grant administrator and will be the service provider for northern Santa Clara County and San Mateo County (on behalf of the San Mateo WIB). In addition to NOVA, three other WIBs are providing services under the grant. Council approval is needed to enter into contracts with these organizations, as shown in the chart in the Discussion section.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 5.1.1: Socio-Economic - Goals and Policies: Education and Training Goal 5.1F: Provide job training and employment services, within constraints of operative Federal regulations and available Federal funding, to address the locally-determined employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged residents and others with special needs.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
N/A
DISCUSSION
The funded project, known as the Silicon Valley Ready to Work Initiative, will close the gap between long-term unemployed (LTU) job seekers, who will be taught to refresh their skills and renew their networks, and tech employers searching for ...
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