High Road Training Partnerships: 2025 Grant Program

Purpose

The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) are pleased to announce up to $18,577,290 in available grant funding for the High Road Training Partnerships 2025 Grant Program (HRTP 2025), a California Jobs First initiative. Of the total funding available, a minimum of $4,327,290 is allocated for projects in the healthcare sector.

Description

This cycle of the HRTP program continues the agency’s commitment to increase access to existing High Road jobs for underserved populations and creating pathways for incumbent workers seeking job growth with High Road employers. The HRTP model embodies the sector approach championed by the CWDB—industry partnerships that deliver job quality, economic equity for more workers, and climate resilience. For more information about previously funded HRTP projects, please see the CWDB’s High Road Training Partnership Profiles webpage. Applying for HRTP 2025 is a two-phase process. Phase I entails the submission of a Pre-Application via email to the CWDB prior to the application’s due date. Phase II entails the submission of the HRTP 2025 application, including narrative responses, Required Partner MOUs, and Agreements for New Projects in the Cal-E-Grants portal. Applicants approved to advance to Phase II will be emailed an invitation to apply with information and deadlines for the Phase II application process. The HRTP 2025 grant program will fund projects in two stages of project readiness: -Training Implementation -Expanding Training Implementation- Award Range: up to $3,000,000 Grant Term: 24 months Training Implementation projects deliver training programs to achieve participants' employment and/or career advancement outcomes. These projects also model strategies for developing industry-based, worker-focused training partnerships, including labor-management partnerships. Training Implementation applicants are not required to have been funded for planning and development by CWDB provided they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in this RFA. However, applicants will be prompted to detail past planning and development activities in their Phase II application. Past Planning and Development HRTP grantees and new projects can apply for the Training Implementation project type. Expanding-Award Range: up to $5,000,000 Grant Term: 24 months An Expanding project is an existing HRTP that can demonstrate its alignment with HRTP’s Essential Elements and is expanding the partnership and/or program scope. Expanding projects must demonstrate past success in achieving training outcomes and detail how the project will focus on increasing scale and/or replication. Expanding projects should seek to increase the number of new job placements and expand the partnership’s presence within the industry. Expanding projects may also extend their capacity to adjacent industry sectors and occupations, replicate the project in other regions, and/or expand access to programming to new target populations. Expanding projects will also grow existing partnerships by adding additional program partners, enhancing conflict resolution, and developing sustainable funding mechanisms. Only past CWDB-funded Training Implementation HRTP grantees are eligible to apply as an Expanding project.