Federal Grant Awarded To Brevard County, FL Workforce
Development Board
During a visit to the John F. Kennedy Space Center Wednesday,
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis (pictured, right) announced
a grant of $15 million to assist approximately 3,200 workers who
will be impacted by the impending retirement of NASA's Space
Shuttle Program. The grant will impact workers from major aerospace
contractors, including ASRC Aerospace Corp., Boeing and United
Space Alliance.
"During nearly three decades of continuous space shuttle
flights, these dedicated and talented workers have helped move our
nation -- and the world as a whole -- forward in a broad range of
disciplines," said Secretary Solis. "Today, these hard-working
Americans need and deserve our support, and I am pleased that this
grant will allow them to upgrade their skills further and gain
access to work opportunities in high demand industries."
The grant is being awarded to The Brevard Workforce Development
Board Inc., which also will serve as the program operator. Funds
will help individuals ranging from entry level workers to highly
skilled professionals with services including career guidance
assistance, job search skills training, resume review, skills
assessment and labor market information, and will provide
additional types of training and continuing education
opportunities.
"We must take every step possible to maintain the Space
Coast's highly skilled workforce, and this grant will provide
critical support to workers and help them find new job
opportunities in our community," said Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, who
represents Florida's District 24 and joined Secretary Solis in
making the grant announcement. "At the same time, I will continue
working to minimize the human space flight gap and attract new
businesses to the Space Coast in order to strengthen and diversify
our economy."
The end of the Space Shuttle Program is the result of a decision
made in 2004 to retire the program by a projected date of November
2010. There are up to 20,000 contract and subcontract workers who
may be laid off by the end of the program. A significant number of
the direct layoffs (6,000 to 7,000 according to the latest
information) are expected to be in Brevard County, FL.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's
discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to
meet specific guidelines.
In a statement, the AIAA said the grant would be a big plus
for aerospace workers in the region. “For almost thirty
years, the space shuttle has served the nation and the world as the
centerpiece of our nation’s space program," said AIAA
President Dr. Mark J. Lewis. "The shuttle has made important
contributions to our knowledge of how we can live and operate in
space, and has been a significant tool in enabling scientific
inquiry. But a program such as the space shuttle is about more than
just the technology and science; it is also about the people who
dreamed, designed, developed, managed, and flew those wondrous
craft into space. To this end, we support efforts to ensure that
the aerospace professionals who made this program possible will be
able to continue contributing their hard-won experience to the
nation’s space endeavors.”
“The Labor Department’s decision, in tandem with
Rep. Suzanne Kosmas’ (FL-24) recently introduced ‘Space
to Schools Act’ – which encourages former space shuttle
program workers with relevant aerospace experience to qualify as
elementary, secondary, or vocational school teachers, by providing
up to $10,000 per worker for required teacher training –
represent concrete, first steps by the government to assist the
transition of space shuttle professionals,” Lewis said.