US Department of Labor awards $1.5M to provide resources for Fort Bliss service members transitioning to civilian life

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $1,564,526 to help service members and their spouses transitioning from the military to civilian life. The funding will ensure impacted workers at and around Fort Bliss have uninterrupted access to needed resources, including employment and training services.

In March 2023, the department’s Employment and Training Administration announced the National Dislocated Worker Grant award of up to approximately $4.7 million, with an initial award of over $1.5 million, to provide resources to eligible service members and their spouses transitioning from the military in El Paso County. A second incremental award was announced in August 2024. With this incremental funding, the total amount awarded for the project is now at the full approved threshold of $4,693,580. 

This incremental award allows Workforce Solutions Borderplex – one of 28 public workforce development boards in Texas – to continue providing employment and training services to dislocated service members and their spouses in El Paso County. 

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Employment Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants provide resources for eligible applicants to respond to major economic dislocations and their associated economic impacts, including communities experiencing higher than average demand for assistance from service members and spouses transitioning from the military.