DeKalb County has been awarded a $949,811 grant to help unemployed young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in school to get jobs in construction and other industries.
The YouthBuild grant, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment & Training Administration, provides occupational skills to young people using a pre-apprenticeship model that includes classroom and workplace training. Participants can earn a high-school diploma or equivalency degree while getting the training.
The award to DeKalb County was one of the smallest of the 68 grants around the country that were announced on Thursday. The only other recipient in Georgia was the Bibb County School District in Macon, which is receiving $1.5 million.
DeKalb County began its YouthBuild program in 2019. At the time, the DeKalb Juvenile Court said it would use the funds to provide paid internships and training in partnership with the Solicitor-General’s office, WorkSource DeKalb and other community organizations.
"YouthBuild meets young people where they live, and wherever they are on their path to educational attainment and career success," Principal Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Suzi LeVine said in a statement announcing the latest grants.
