A climate ready nation requires a climate ready workforce. NOAA will assist communities in coastal and Great Lakes states and territories so they may form partnerships that train workers and place them into jobs that enhance climate resilience. This competition is designed to meet the emerging and existing skills needs of employers while helping workers enter good jobs, so that together they may enhance climate resilience. NOAA envisions making between 10-20 awards under this competition, at amounts ranging from $500,000 to $10 million each.
NOAA is issuing this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for qualified organizations to form and support partnerships that will work collaboratively to support regional economies and their associated workforces by developing training programs that build in-demand skills, offering wraparound services that allow workers to successfully enroll in and complete training, and helping workers enter or advance into good jobs that enhance climate resilience. Wraparound services allow people to overcome barriers to participate in the program, especially individuals in underserved groups. Examples of wraparound services include transportation, childcare, elder care, and housing services. NOAA heavily prioritizes efforts to reach individuals from historically underserved communities (see Executive Order (EO) 13985; see https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-adva ncing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/), , and to benefit disadvantaged communities (see Executive Order 14008; see https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/ and defined in M-23-09, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/M-23-09_Signed_CEQ_CPO.pdf).
Through this Inflation Reduction Act Climate Ready Workforce for Coastal States, Tribes, and Territories Competition (hereafter referred to as “Climate Ready Workforce Competition''), NOAA will advance the Federal Ocean Climate Action Plan (see https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ocean-Climate-Action-Plan_Final.pdf), make equity central to our work, and support economic growth–all toward the agency’s mission of science, service, and stewardship. Specifically, funded efforts will prepare and place workers in good jobs that enhance climate resilience and will advance environmental justice.
Deadlines:
● REQUIRED Letters of Intent are due on November 30, 2023.
● The deadline for application submission is February 13, 2024.
Eligible applicants for the Climate Ready Workforce Competition must be located in coastal states or
territories as defined by 16 U.S.C. § 1453(4) or in the District of Columbia. They are:
○ State governments;
○ Tribal governments - the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band,
nation, pueblo, village, community, component band, or component reservation, individually
identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of 2022 pursuant to
section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131);
○ Territorial governments;
○ Local governments;
○ Institutions of higher education (as defined in subsection (a) of section 101 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), including Historically Black Colleges
and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, other Minority-Serving Institutions,
community colleges, and technical colleges;
○ Non-profit organizations or associations.