Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández Announce $6.4 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding To Develop Health Care, Construction Workforce Training Program In Northern New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) announced a $6.4 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant to North Central New Mexico Economic Development District in Santa Fe. This funding will create the Northern New Mexico Workforce Integration Network (WIN), a health care, building and construction workforce training program.

This program will create pathways into high-paying jobs in health care and construction with a focus on Latino, Indigenous, and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals recovering from substance use disorder. With its network of local community colleges, unions, and employers, the program will deploy a mobile classroom to provide high-quality classroom training and apprenticeships to hard-to-reach populations.

“When Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, we created more opportunities for Americans to enter back into the workforce through programs like the Good Jobs Challenge,” said Heinrich. “This federal funding will help individuals access the type of training needed to secure good-paying health care and construction jobs, increasing economic security and sustainability for more New Mexicans.”

“Job training programs are critical to expanding access to good-paying jobs, and as our communities continue to recover from the pandemic,” said Luján. “I’m pleased this robust investment from the American Rescue Plan will deliver more than $6 million to Northern New Mexico to develop job training programs in critical industries like health care and construction.”

“The most significant investments we can make are in our gente,” said Leger Fernández. “This $6.4 million investment will help ensure underserved New Mexicans have the skills they need to secure high-paying jobs and provide for themselves and their families.”

“President Biden’s American Rescue Plan funding through the Good Jobs Challenge will provide necessary investments that will not only build economic resilience, but ensure economic prosperity for individual Americans,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA grant will help support and address inequities among the Latino and Indigenous communities in Northern New Mexico through quality training, while also bolstering the healthcare and construction industries.”

“The Good Jobs Challenge is excited to bring together diverse partners and local leaders from Northern New Mexico to build workforce training programs” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “Led by North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, this program is creating new opportunities for Latino, Indigenous, and formerly incarcerated individuals to secure good-paying jobs across the region and building a strong workforce to support critical industries.”

Heinrich, Luján, and Leger Fernández championed the American Rescue Plan into law that funded the Good Jobs Challenge. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded grants through the program to 32 worker-centered, industry-led workforce training partnerships across the country.

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