Job Corps and the Recovery Act

Note: This page is also available in Spanish. (Esta página está disponible en español.)

On Feb. 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law after Congress voted to pass the Act four days earlier. As one of the recipients of funding, the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps program was charged with supporting ARRA's immediate goals:

Create new jobs and protect existing jobs.
Spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth.
Foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

The National Office of Job Corps developed a plan to use its ARRA funds to accomplish those goals while also promoting environmental stewardship.

Create new jobs and protect existing jobs.

Since being founded in 1964, Job Corps has prepared young people for productive careers in the American workforce. In doing so, Job Corps has supported the U.S. economy for more than four decades.

Job Corps centers in 125 communities across the country strengthen local economies through the employment of staff, the purchase of goods and services, offering tailored employee training, and tax savings opportunities for local businesses. Each of these areas was invigorated by the additional funds for the Job Corps program, specifically those for shovel-ready construction projects.

Recovery Act funds resulted in the green-lighting of projects of varying size and scope from coast to coast that relied on small-business owners and contractors for completion.

Within this report, you will read, see, and hear from local business people who were able to retain and hire employees as a direct result of the Recovery Act.

Spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth.

Job Corps strengthened its training infrastructure by adding new curricula to support job growth in emerging industries, built facilities and acquired technologies to upgrade its existing programs, and developed materials to equip its instructors.

The result: a nationwide job training and education program positioned to continue its mission of preparing young people for productive placement in the ever-evolving American workplace.

Foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

In addition to requiring quarterly reports from all Recovery Act funds recipients, the National Office of Job Corps - responsible for management of all Recovery Act funds allotted to the Job Corps program - staffed positions in each of its six regions to oversee the ARRA-funded projects. Site visits were performed, reports were filed, and photos, videos, and project summaries were shared nationally via e-newsletters.

This e-report is another platform for sharing information about how the program allocated $250 million in ARRA funds.

Additional information can be found by exploring the tabs listed in the green bar at the top of this and every page of this site:

Within these tabs are photos, videos, and detailed information about Job Corps' ARRA-funded projects accompanied by interviews with the Job Corps students, staff members, and contractors who did the work.