NJEDA Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program

NJEDA Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program is sponsored by New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Supports construction of workforce training facilities in New Jersey's Overburdened Communities.

Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program - NJEDA Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program Applications for the Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program are now closed.

The Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program is a competitive funding opportunity that will award grants to support the development of facilities for use as training centers for United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Registered Apprenticeship programs located within New Jersey Overburdened Communities . A total of $9. 7 million is available for awards under this Grant Program.

The minimum and maximum amounts for individual awards are set at $500,000 and $6,500,000, respectively.

$30 million in total funding is available Applicants may request a grant amount from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $500,000 Grant funds may cover up to 100 percent of the proposed project costs Improve New Jersey residents’ ability to access fresh, affordable, healthy food Expand operational and employment capacities for local businesses and nonprofits enabling food access and food security Projects must primarily serve residents of one or more of the 14 Primary Focus FDCs Applicants must be for-profit or nonprofit entities that have been in existence for at least two years at the time of application Entities demonstrating a track record of serving FDC residents and providing programming/services related to food access and/or food security will earn higher scores Eligible Project Locations The Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction Grant Program is established to provide grants for new construction and/or substantial rehabilitation, of facilities in Overburdened Communities dedicated to training apprentices in the USDOL Registered Apprenticeship programs (“Projects”).

The overall goals of the program will be to: Eliminate transportation barriers for residents of Overburdened Communities by locating training centers funded by this grant opportunity in said communities. Enable access to low- or no-cost training to participants that fulfill a workforce-related need in the building and construction trades and position trainees to attain high-quality employment.

Create positive economic and local benefits to the communities in which the training centers are located.

Eligible Projects are new construction, and/or substantial rehabilitation, (hereinafter collectively referred to as “construction”) projects located in Overburdened Communities for use as a training center for a USDOL Registered Apprenticeship program as defined below are eligible and will be considered for Apprenticeship Training Centers Construction grants: Substantial rehabilitation shall have the same meaning as “reconstruction” in N.

J. A. C.

5:23-6. 3 which means: any project where the extent and nature of the work is such that the work area cannot be occupied while the work is in progress and where a new certificate of occupancy is required before the work area can be reoccupied. Reconstruction may include repair, renovation, alteration or any combination thereof.

Reconstruction shall not include projects comprised only of floor finish replacement, painting or wallpapering, or the replacement of equipment or furnishings. Asbestos hazard abatement and lead hazard abatement projects shall not be classified as reconstruction solely because occupancy of the work area is not permitted.

” Projects must be primarily used for USDOL Registered Apprenticeship training activities following construction for a minimum of five (5) years. Applicants that own the Project site must agree to a deed restriction on the Project site ensuring no change in the proposed project use for five (5) years after Project completion.

Applicants that lease the Project site must have a lease term that extends at least five (5) years beyond Project completion. Projects that have started construction are not eligible. Construction, including demolition and remediation, cannot start until execution of a grant agreement.

All projects will be subject to compliance with New Jersey prevailing wage law and the Public Works Contractor Registration Act (N. J. S.

A. 34:11-56. 48 et seq.)

which require all contractors, subcontractors, or lower tier subcontractors (including subcontractors listed in the bid proposal) who bid on or engage in the performance of any public work in New Jersey to register with the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Evidence of site control or a pathway to site control within 180 days of Board approval is required at time of application.

However, in order to execute a grant agreement, the Authority would require evidence of site ownership (a deed) or an executed lease agreement with a term that extends at least five (5) years beyond project completion. Development of projects must be completed within two (2) years of grant agreement execution, which may be extended up to two (2) times by one (1) year each, at the sole discretion of the Authority.

The project location must be within an Overburdened Community (OBC) [1] as defined by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

Specifically, OBCs are block groups with: At least 35 percent low-income households; or At least 40 percent of the residents identify as minority or as members of a State recognized tribal community; or At least 40 percent of the households have limited English proficiency NJDEP provides the public a list and visualizations of OBC locations throughout the state at https://dep. nj. gov/ej/communities/ .

Applicants will be required to conduct training for the building and construction trade(s) in the facility funded by this grant.

Eligible occupations within the building and construction trades registered and approved by USDOL include: Electrician, Electrician – Maintenance, Telecommunications Technician, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Maintenance, Heating and Air Conditioning Mechanic and Installer, Stationary Engineer, Structural Steel Worker, Sheet Metal Worker, Boilermaker, Plumber, Pipe Fitter (Construction), Millwright, Cement Mason, Bricklayer – Construction, Roofer, Operating Engineer, Elevator Constructor, Carpenter, Carpenter – Mold, Pile Driver, Cabinetmaker, Floor Layer, Floor Cover Layer, Construction Craft Laborer, Pipe Coverer and Insulator, Bricklayer, Painter, Painter – Decorator, Painter – Industrial Coating and Lining Application Specialist, Taper, Glazier, Plasterer, Drywall Finisher, Pavement Striper, and Truck Driver – Heavy.

Eligible applicants must be the Sponsor of at least one (1) Registered Apprenticeship Program as defined by the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship and must have been in continuous operation for a minimum of ten (10) years) at the time of application.

Sponsors must possess the registration of an apprenticeship program meaning the acceptance and recording of such program by the Office of Apprenticeship, or registration and/or approval by a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, as meeting the basic standards and requirements of the Department for approval of such program for Federal purposes.

Applicants must agree to maintain their Certificate of Registration for at least five (5) years following completion of the project. A Sponsor may include any, person, association, committee, or organization that operates a Registered Apprenticeship program and assumes the full responsibility for administration and operation of the apprenticeship program.

If applicants do not maintain their Certificate of Registration and /or do not use the training center for its proposed use for the term of the grant, they may be required to return a proportionate share of their awarded grant. The grant term includes the construction period, and a minimum of five (5) years post project completion dedicated to training implementation.

In order to provide grants and support projects by different entities and in various regions of the State, no applicant (and or applicant related entity) may receive more than one grant award.

In addition, the Authority will seek to make a minimum of one award per State region (contingent on the availability of funds) as described below: North region: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic Sussex, Union, and Warren counties Central region: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties South region: Atlantic, Burlington Camden, Cape May, Cumberland Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, and Salem counties Provided that one or more applications are submitted for each region which meet or exceed the minimum score requirement of 65 points, the highest ranked application from each region will be recommended to the Board for award approval within the funding available for the program.

Step 1: The highest scored eligible application in the pool will be recommended to the Board for approval irrespective of region. Step 2: The next highest scored eligible application from either of the other remaining regions will be recommended to the Board for approval (contingent on the availability of funds).

Step 3: The next highest scored eligible application from the remaining region will be recommended to the Board for approval (contingent on the availability of funds). Following this step, all remaining applications will be merged into a single group and scored. The highest scoring applications from the merged group will be recommended to the Board for award approval until all Program funding is awarded.

The minimum grant award would be $500,000 and the maximum grant award would be $ 6,500,000 per project. Grant funding may be used for soft and hard construction costs, including predevelopment project costs. Grant funding cannot be used for property acquisition costs/equity and are not considered as part of total project development costs.

Operating costs for the training itself post construction are not eligible project costs. Grant funding cannot exceed 70% (or 80% in Government Restricted Municipalities [2] ) of eligible total project development costs (soft and hard construction costs) within the approved application. Additional funding requirements are: Eligible soft costs may not exceed 20% of the total project development costs.

The developer fee cannot exceed 8% of total project development costs. Contingencies of total project development costs cannot exceed 10% of hard project costs and 5% of soft project costs. [2] Government Restricted Municipalities are Atlantic City, Camden, East Orange, New Brunswick, Paterson and Trenton.

These dates are subject to change: Notice of Funding Availability posted: June 23, 2025 Application Opens: June 30, 2025 Informational Webinar: July 2, 2025 Final date for applicants to submit grant program questions: August 29, 2025 Final Q&A posted: September 15, 2025 Applications Due: September 29, 2025 Eligible Project Locations board memo and specifications Sample Application Q&A frequently asked questions For more information or to ask a specific question, please send an email to Workforceinnovation@njeda.

gov .