Gov. Doyle: Announces more than $1 million federal grant to combat poverty in Milwaukee

Contacts: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Dick Jones, Department of Workforce Development, 608-267-4780

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $1,075,000 Pathways out of Poverty grant to the city of Milwaukee. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act award will be administered nationally through Jobs for the Future, Inc., and will be used to train workers in skills needed for the growing clean energy economy.

“I am pleased that this funding is being committed to green jobs training,” Governor Doyle said. “Not only will this assistance provide much-needed relief and good jobs for struggling families, it will also help Wisconsin meet our goals for a clean energy future.”

Governor Doyle recently launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s green economy and create jobs. The package calls for updating renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of Wisconsin’s fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and sets a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015. A comprehensive economic assessment of the package found that it would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.

The Pathways out of Poverty award will help expand the Milwaukee Builds Program, which prepares young adults for careers in construction, and the Milwaukee Urban Forestry Initiative, which prepares young adults for jobs in the forestry industry. The total award of nearly $8 million will also be shared by Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Governor Doyle has worked hard to open doors of opportunity to all people in the state. Under Governor Doyle’s leadership over the past year, Wisconsin has expanded health care coverage for low-income workers, helped provide educational and job training opportunities for dislocated workers, and extended and increased unemployment benefits.