The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is announcing $4.2 million Highway Construction Training Program grants (HCTP) to support projects that will recruit, train, and place individuals into highway construction jobs. Sixteen grants will be awarded to educational institutions and State departments of transportation (State DOTs).
On April 17, 2024, FHWA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making available $4,226,852 to fund the HCTP grants. The HCTP grants are funded by the Transportation Education and Training Development and Deployment Program (TETDDP) and which was codified in the US Code at 23 504(f)) with enactment of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users highway legislation in 2005. The program was renamed as the Transportation Education Development Program (TEDP) in the MAP-21 highway legislation. FHWA used the TEDP grant funds to support five Region Transportation Workforce Centers: Northeast - University of Vermont; Southeast Center - University of Memphis; Midwest Center - University of Wisconsin; Southwest Center - University of California - Long Beach; and the West Center - Montana State University.
In 2016, FHWA worked with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Associated General Contractors of America, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to establish the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP) Pilot Program. The two-year Pilot Program brought together working groups of highway, education, and workforce system representatives in six cities and six states.
In 2021, FHWA used On-the-Job Training Supportive Services (OJT/SS) funds to support a $4.2 million HCWP grant program. State Department of Transportations were eligible recipients. With the funding available, FHWA was able to support 11 of 21 grant applications. In 2021, HCWP was selected as a focus program for the FHWA’s Every Day Counts-6 Program (EDC-6) for 2021 and 2022. EDC is a State-based model to identify and rapidly deploy proven, yet under-used innovations.
The program was renamed the Strategic Workforce Development (SWD) Initiative and was selected as a focus program in EDC-7. The SWD has been adopted by 43 States. In 2024, FHWA repurposed the TETDDP funds from support for the Region Workforce Centers to fund the HCTP grants. The significant shortage of highway workers was the primary consideration in the FHWA decision.
Highway Construction Training Program FY 24 Awarded Project Descriptions
