FSCJ receives $2.2 million grant for 'green jobs'

A federal "green jobs" program will give training to 390 people in the Jacksonville area by using a $2.2 million grant announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, said the Pathways Out Of Poverty program will help people in the ranks of the "hardcore unemployed" who dropped out of high school or have criminal records.

Florida State College at Jacksonville will receive a $2.2 million grant to run the program, said U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.The Department of Labor wants the job-training to focus on people living in neighborhoods where the poverty rate is 15 percent or higher.

FSCJ is among 38 recipients of grants totaling $150 million that were announced Wednesday for similar green-job training programs nationwide.Edythe Abdullah, president of the college's downtown campus, said Florida Coast Career Tech, a division of the college, intends to start classes in the fall semester.

She said the college will be gathering information from regional employers about what kinds of jobs will have the highest demand for workers.The training could target jobs in fields such as weatherization of buildings, inspecting buildings to recommend improvements for energy efficiency, manufacturing solar equipment, and installation of technology.

"We want to deploy this in a way that the training and the jobs are in sync," Abdullah said.The Jacksonville program has not yet set up an application process for the job-training slots, but anyone interested in the program can contact the college at (904) 598-5600.