TOWSON, MD—County Executive Johnny Olszewski on Tuesday announced that Baltimore County was awarded over $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge funding through the Maryland Department of Labor to connect residents to regional training programs and apprenticeships for career paths in offshore wind industry.

“The legacy of Sparrows Point is one built on good jobs for families, which is why I am so proud this next step will extend that legacy into the future built on a green economy,” Olszewski said. “This funding will help ensure Baltimore County continues to build a pipeline for a modern, skilled workforce as we continue our rapid transformation into the region’s premiere hub for offshore wind while expanding our efforts to combat climate change and creating hundreds of high-quality jobs in the process.”

In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the Maryland Department of Labor over $22 million through the Good Jobs Challenge grant program, a component of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), designed to help Americans recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. The Maryland Works for Wind (MWW) project was one of 32 Good Jobs Challenge projects selected out of more than 500 nationwide applicants.

As a subrecipient of this grant, Baltimore County’s Department of Economic and Workforce Development (DEWD) has been awarded $2,062,500 to serve as regional convener for central Maryland and connect residents to regional training programs and apprenticeships to help create an offshore wind (OSW) workforce development pipeline.

With this funding, DEWD will connect residents to training and skills needed for the emerging OSW industry and to attract and retain workers to support projects across the State, including several projects at Tradepoint Atlantic in eastern Baltimore County, including Ørsted Offshore North America, and US Wind.

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