Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Title IV-D, Demonstration Program: Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Title IV-D, Demonstration

Program: Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations

AGENCY: Women's Bureau, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant

Applications (SGA 98-04).

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SUMMARY: All information required to submit a proposal is contained in

this announcement. Applicants for grant funds should read this notice

in its entirety and respond as directed. Grant proposals that are not

completed as directed will be judged nonresponsive and will not be

evaluated.

The Women's Bureau (WB), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announces

the fifth (5) year of the Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGAs)

first authorized by the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional

Occupations (WANTO) Act under its grant provision to Community-Based

Organizations (CBOs) to deliver Technical Assistance (TA) to private

sector Employers and Labor Unions (E/LUs) to prepare them to increase

the recruiting, training, promotion, and retention of women in

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations (A/NTOs) in their

workplaces. WANTO is a competitive grant program funded through the Job

Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title IV-D. While the Women's Bureau

has responsibility for implementing the competitive grant process, the

WANTO Act is jointly administered by the Department of Labor's Bureau

of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT)/Employment and Training

Administration (ETA) and the Women's Bureau (WB).

The Department expects to make up to eight (8) WANTO awards to

experienced, private nonprofit CBOs from the funds allocated for FY

1998. With the fifth year of WANTO grants, the Department will give

priority consideration to proposals for technical assistance that

leverage WANTO funds in Federally designated Empowerment Zones (EZ) and

Enterprise Communities (EC) in both rural and urban areas. (See

Appendix A for a listing of Urban EZ/EC cities and Appendix B for a

listing of Rural EZ/EC areas and contacts.) The Department expects

WANTO funded CBOs to assist employers and labor unions to make

commitments to increase the participation of EZ/EC area women who are

returning to work after welfare and related long-term work disruptions.

The DOL is particularly concerned with obtaining the commitment of

employers and labor unions who have jobs/careers in information

technology, manufacturing, and apprenticeship in skilled construction

building trades. Employers and labor unions will be encouraged to

assist returning women to enter and remain in apprenticeship training

and other nontraditional employment in these industries by (1)

providing them with information on the realities of work and the

company's promotion and employee development practices, (2) creating a

firm-specific individual development plan, (3) providing for firm-

specific skill/job development to promote job advancement, and (4)

providing for support services utilizing both firm and community

resource networks. CBOs should note well that WANTO training is for

employer or labor union firm/company-specific (demand) and is not to

increase the general store (supply) of trained workers in

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations. Finally, each proposal

MUST include a specific defined internal program evaluation design.

In this time of economic prosperity and skill shortage, it is clear

that CBOs'

[[Page 35956]]

technical assistance can convince employers and labor unions of the

advantage of training and support services to develop their own

skilled, stable, and competitive work force. It is equally clear that

advances in high technology has moved the U.S. economy from the

smokestack industrial age to the information age. Advances in high-tech

and microelectronics have spurred the restructuring manufacturing

industry and given rise to a variety of computer-based jobs/careers in

service sector industries--e.g., public utilities, transportation,

finance, real estate, business, professional and personal services, as

well as the rise of the information technology industry. Such

industries can provide the stable year-round jobs women returning to

work need to begin building a self-sufficient future with good wages

and benefits. Nonetheless, apprenticeship in the skilled building

trades and highway construction can provide important career

opportunities for women, particularly given the shortage of skilled

workers. Therefore, the Department will give priority consideration to

applications with an occupational/industrial focus that link, in the

first instance, to the delivery of technical assistance to employers

and unions in information technology, high-tech skilled manufacturing

(including tool and die, technicians and machinists to customize,

repair, and service products) and other nonconstruction industries,

including utilities, telecommunications, transportation, computer-based

business, professional and personal services, and in apprenticeship in

the skilled building trades in construction. In the second instance,

priority consideration will be given to the delivery of technical

assistance to employers and labor unions linked to jobs with private

contractors on State/Federal Department of Transportation highway and

road projects, including construction. In all, the aim of the technical

assistance is to promote the placement and training of EZ/EC area women

returning to work after welfare and other long-term disruptions in

project-committed employer and union workplaces.

Proposals including ALL four (4) of the Department's priority

interests (noted and summarized below) for CBO technical assistance to

employers and labor unions will receive thirty (30) bonus points. To

receive any bonus points, the proposal MUST focus on Empowerment Zones

and Enterprise Communities where the CBO has a commitment to leverage

WANTO activities in the EZ/EC areas, as noted in Appendices A and B.

(1) Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC), (2)

Nonconstruction industrial and apprenticeship in the skilled building

trades in construction and highway industries focuses, (3) employer and

labor union commitment to placement and skill development to increase

the participation of women returning to work after welfare and other

long-term work disruptions, and (4) employer and labor union commitment

for support services--particularly, child care, transportation, and

transitional costs--for women returning to work from welfare and other

long-term work disruptions.

1. Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZs/ECs) have been

identified in both rural and urban areas and can be characterized as

having high incidences of poverty. Further, these are areas where other

public resources are now being leveraged to revitalize their economies,

including incentives for job creation in private enterprise. The

Department also wants to leverage WANTO funding in these areas of

concentrated economic resources to support both employers and labor

unions who want to help themselves by increasing the participation of

women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations, particularly

EZ/EC area women who are returning to work from welfare and other long-

term work disruptions. (See Appendices A and B for lists of EZ/EC areas

and contact agencies.)

2. Industry-Occupation focus should reflect non-construction

industries, particularly in manufacturing and information technology.

The Department's priority is to emphasize the wide diversity of

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations beyond the building

trades. While the most often-cited high-pay nontraditional occupations

are those of the skilled building trades, e.g., carpenters, plumbers,

electricians, sheet metal workers or welders, etc.; in the construction

industry, there is also a variety of high-pay nontraditional

occupations arising from the advances of high technology in

nonconstruction industries. Jobs in some industries have significant

labor shortages and can support the entry and skill development needs

of women returning to work from welfare and other long-term work

disruptions. High-tech has restructured manufacturing, both improving

and/or developing new manufacturing processes in fiber optics,

chemicals, and petroleum. Such career opportunities have increased the

need for technicians' skills in electronics and related computer-based

skills and machinists skilled to customize, service, build, and repair

precision machinery in manufacturing. Still other fast growing

computer-based jobs are found in service sector industries, e.g.,

business/professional services (including record keeping, financial,

and personal services), other high-tech and information technologies

driven by the growth in telecommunications, utilities, transportation,

and health care industries. Statistical projections continue to

anticipate employment growth and labor shortages in nonconstruction

occupations, particularly those requiring technical skills. Thus, the

window of opportunity is open for women returning to work for employers

and labor unions in these industries who want to build a stable,

skilled, and competitive work force.

3. Skill Development and Related Training is a necessary component

to advancement to self-sufficiency for women returning to work from

welfare and other long-term work disruptions. Not only must they work,

but returning women also need a range of employment related skills,

including readiness and job-specific skills to enter and remain in

self-sufficient jobs and to move up the career ladder. Such training

includes not only informal buddy or on-the-job mentoring by experienced

workers, but also more structured work readiness and pre-apprenticeship

programs linked to sponsored apprenticeship training programs.

Therefore, it is important that proposed responses to this SGA show

constructive strategies that promote both placement and training for

women returning to work in the CBO's delivery of technical assistance

to employer and labor union preparation to recruit, train, promote, and

retain women in apprenticeship and other nontraditional occupations.

Training is an area where community-wide resources and EZ/EC area

leverages might provide advantages to WANTO technical assistance.

Moreover, emphasis should be on both work and skills training during

the workday, since many of the target women are single mothers with

small children, that does not allow them much free time to obtain

skills training after working hours.

4. Support Services are a necessary service for most work families.

Many women seeking to enter or sustain themselves in apprenticeship and

other nontraditional employment are unable to enter and/or complete

training programs or employment because of the lack of child care,

transportation, and transitional costs. This is another area where the

community-wide human

[[Page 35957]]

resources and social services of EZ/EC areas can supplement and/or

support WANTO technical assistance to employers and labor unions in

their efforts with the CBO to women returning to work after welfare and

other long-term work disruptions to become economically viable again.

Therefore, grant proposals also should discuss workplace strategies for

technical assistance to employers and labor unions that also bring to

the attention of employers and labor unions the need and how to develop

cooperative strategies with community resources to provide for

transitional costs (including fees/dues, tools, uniforms, and living

costs), child care, and transportation.

This notice describes the background, the application process,

statement of work, evaluation criteria, and reporting requirements for

this Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA 98-04). WB anticipates

that a total amount of $1,000,000 will be available for the support of

all Fiscal Year 1998. (See Part II.C. for funding limitations per

grant.)

DATES: One (1) ink-signed original, complete grant application plus

five (5) copies of the Technical Proposal and three (3) copies of the

Cost Proposal shall be submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor,

Office of Procurement Services, Room N-5416, Reference SGA 98-04, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, not later than 4:45

p.m. ET, August 17, 1998. Hand-delivered applications must be received

by the Office of Procurement Services by that time.

ADDRESSES: Applicants who intend to submit a proposal must register

immediately with the Grant Officer in order to receive any amendment to

this solicitation that is issued. Please send registration to U.S.

Department of Labor, Office of Procurement Services, Attention: Grant

Officer, Reference SGA 98-04, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210. Grant applications must be mailed to U.S.

Department of Labor, Office of Procurement Services, Attention: Grant

Officer, Reference SGA 98-04, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210. Applicants are encouraged to verify delivery

to this office directly through their delivery service and as soon as

possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Applications will not be mailed. The

Federal Register may be obtained from your nearest government office or

library. Questions concerning this solicitation may be sent to Lisa

Harvey at the following Internet address: [email protected].

Part I. Background

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Act

Pub. L. 102-530, signed October 27, 1992--

The Act has three major activities that affect this SGA:

1. Outreach to Employers and Labor Unions. DOL will promote the

Act's program to employers and labor unions by informing them of the

availability of technical assistance and keeping a data base of

employers and community-based organizations with active grants.

2. Technical Assistance. DOL will provide grants to community-based

organizations to deliver technical assistance to employers and labor

unions to prepare them to recruit, train, and employ women in

apprenticeable and nontraditional occupations.

3. Liaison Role of Department of Labor. DOL will serve as follows:

(1) To act as a liaison between employers, labor, and the community-

based organizations providing technical assistance, and (2)

coordinating, conducting regular assessment, and seeking input of

employers and labor unions.

Women's Bureau

Improving women's employment opportunities and related equity

issues have been the driving force of the Bureau's activities and

policies since its inception in 1920. Within the Department of Labor,

the Director serves as the policy advisor to the Secretary on issues

related to working women.

The Bureau has a history of encouraging women to consider the wide

array of apprenticeable and other occupations nontraditional to women

as one way to obtain economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their

families. Nontraditional occupations (NTOs) are occupations where women

account for 25 percent or less of all persons employed in an

occupational group. NTOs include the often-cited skilled trades in

construction, as well as the emerging ``good'' or high-pay jobs in

nonconstruction as the result of advances in high-tech and the

pervasiveness of microelectronics. Nonetheless, the lack of a critical

mass of women in good, high-pay jobs in both construction and

nonconstruction results in continued occupational segregation and

artificial employment barriers to women's success in apprenticeship and

NTOs, particularly in the old established workplaces and occupations,

particularly in construction trades. Studies point out that once hired,

women in construction face problems (sexism, racism, homophobia,

inadequate toilet facilities, health and safety, isolation from other

women, etc.) that erode their retention in jobs. These problems are

beyond the usual problems faced by all women and some men--sexual

harassment, pay equity, balancing work and family responsibilities.

(See, Laurie Wessman LeBreton, Sara Segal Loevy, and Lauren Sugerman,

Building Equal Opportunity, and Breaking New Ground: Worksite 2000.)

The Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training

The Women's Bureau co-administers WANTO with the Bureau of

Apprenticeship and Training (BAT). BAT was established in 1937 as the

national administrative agency in the Department of Labor to carry out

the objectives of the National Apprenticeship Act (also known as the

Fitzgerald Act), guided by the recommendations of the Federal Committee

on Apprenticeship. BAT has the objective to stimulate and assist

industry in the development, expansion, and improvement of

apprenticeship and training programs designed to provide the skilled

workers required by the American economy.

Under the National Apprenticeship Act, the Bureau is responsible

for providing service to existing apprenticeship programs and technical

assistance to organizations who would like to establish an

apprenticeship program. The Bureau works very closely with State

Apprenticeship Councils (SAC) and the educational system to deliver

support services at the national, State and local level. When

apprentices finish their training, they receive certificates of

completion of apprenticeship. These are issued by the State

apprenticeship agencies, or in those States not having such an agency,

by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training in accordance with its

recommended standards.

BAT is committed to improving the access of women to apprenticeship

training to increase their employment in jobs that have historically

put men on the career ladder to successful working careers. As

apprenticeship has been the building block for a skilled and stable

work force, it is also a career path that can provide an economically

stable family life in mainstream America.

Definitions

Nontraditional Occupations (NTOs) are those where women account for

less than 25 percent of all persons employed in a single occupational

group.

[[Page 35958]]

Pre-Apprenticeship programs for women prepare them to keep pace

with occupational skills training or entry-level employment in

nontraditional occupations. The curriculum includes pre-vocational

instruction in identification and use of tools, blueprint reading,

basic shop skills, and safety procedures, as well as math skills, and

physical conditioning.

Apprenticeship is a formal paid training-work agreement where labor

and management work together to promote learning on the job. (Some BAT

registered apprenticeship programs are operated by employers

independent of labor unions.) To support the ``hands on'' learning,

there must be related theoretical instruction (often classroom). After

successfully completing the BAT-registered program standards--usually

three to five years--the apprentice is awarded a certificate of

completion by either the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) or

the State Apprenticeship Council.

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) are as defined in Section 4(5)

of the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C 1501(5)): Private

nonprofit organizations which are representative of communities or

significant segments of communities and which provide job training

services. For this solicitation, communities or significant segments of

communities are the private nonprofit organizations that have

demonstrated at least three years experience in (1) the operation and

delivery of employment and training related services to women, and (2)

the development of policies, programs and technical assistance for

employers and labor unions for the recruitment, selection, training,

placing, retaining, and otherwise preparation of WOMEN to enter and

remain in APPRENTICESHIP and other NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS (NTOs).

Please Note That Eligible Applicants Must Not Be Classified Under

The IRS Tax Code as A 501(c)(4) Entity.

A. Authorities

The technical assistance grants were first authorized under the

Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Act,

Pub. L. 102-530, approved October 27, 1992.

B. Purpose of the Demonstration

The purpose of the WANTO demonstration program is to provide

technical assistance to employers and labor unions to encourage and

prepare them to increase the participation of women in apprenticeship

and nontraditional occupations in their workplaces. Such activity will

increase the total level of employment of women in good jobs that pay

living wages.

Part II. Application Process

A. Eligible Applicants

1. Private, Nonprofit, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) are the

only entities eligible for grant awards. Public bodies such as JTPA

administrative entities, schools, and hospitals are not eligible for

WANTO grants.

Please Note That Eligible Applicants Must Not Be Classified Under

The IRS Tax Code as A 501(c)(4) Entity.

(a.) Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) are the eligible

applicants to receive WANTO grants to provide technical assistance to

private sector employers and labor unions that request assistance to

prepare them/their workplaces to recruit, select, train, place, retain

women in apprenticeship or other nontraditional occupations, including

linking their apprenticeship program to pre-apprenticeship programs

with specific employment. The Department is interested in leveraging

WANTO technical assistance to private sector employers and labor unions

in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) as noted in

Appendices A and B. The final goal would be to increase the

participation of EZ/EC women returning to work after welfare or other

long-term work disruptions in apprenticeship and nontraditional jobs/

career paths. CBOs should note well: CBOs should demonstrate their

interaction with the community beyond direct services for a fee, e.g.,

CBO activities for social and economic change in their community to

support women.

(b.) Specific Technical Assistance provided by CBOs may include:

(1) Developing outreach and orientation sessions to recruit women

into the employers' apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional

occupations;

(2) Developing pre-apprenticeable occupations or nontraditional

skills training to prepare women for apprenticeable occupations or

nontraditional occupations;

(3) Providing ongoing orientations for employers, unions, and

workers on creating a successful environment for women in

apprenticeable occupations or nontraditional occupations;

(4) Setting up support groups and facilitating networks for women

in nontraditional occupations on or off the job site to improve their

retention;

(5) Setting up a local computerized data base referral system to

maintain a current list of tradeswomen who are available for work;

(6) Serving as a liaison between tradeswomen and employers and

tradeswomen and labor unions to address workplace issues related to

gender; and

(7) Conducting exit interviews with tradeswomen to evaluate their

on-the-job experience and to assess the effectiveness of the program.

(8) Developing cooperative projects that leverage WANTO technical

assistance with EZ/EC area social and human services resources to

support employers' and labor unions' integration of women returning to

work after welfare or other long-term work disruptions.

(c.) Employers and Labor Unions are eligible to request and receive

technical assistance provided by community-based organizations with a

WANTO grant. Such technical assistance includes all items listed under

A.(b.)(1)-(8) above and including linking pre-apprenticeship with a

commitment for employment and/or sponsored apprenticeship training, and

any other technical assistance an employer or labor union may need to

increase the participation of women returning to work to enter and

remain in apprenticeship and other nontraditional occupations,

particularly in the manufacturing and information technology

industries.

To be selected to receive technical assistance either through

direct application with a CBO, or independent of a specific CBO,

employers and labor unions must submit a request (as described below)

and send it directly to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of

Procurement Services, Room N-5416, Attention: Lisa Harvey, 200

Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.

(d.) All Employers and Labor Unions must provide a written

commitment for technical assistance by answering the following:

(1) A description of the need for assistance;

(2) A description of the types of apprenticeable occupations or

nontraditional occupations in which the employer or labor union would

like to train or employ women;

(3) Assurances that there are or will be suitable and appropriate

employment available in the apprenticeable occupations or in the

nontraditional occupations being targeted; and

(4) Commitments that all reasonable efforts should be made to place

women in apprenticeable occupations or nontraditional occupations as

they develop skills.

[[Page 35959]]

B. Contents

To be considered responsive to this SGA, each application must

consist of, and follow the order of, the sections listed in Part III of

this solicitation. The application must also include information which

the applicant believes will address the selection criteria identified

in Part IV. Technical proposals shall not exceed 20 single sided,

double spaced, 10 to 12 pitch typed pages (not including attachments).

Any Proposal That Does Not Conform to These Standards Shall be Deemed

Nonresponsive to This SGA and Will Not be Evaluated.

1. Technical Proposal

Each proposal shall include: (1) A two-page abstract summarizing

the proposal, and (2) a complete description of the CBO's program for

technical assistance, including information required in Part III and

IV. No cost data or reference to price shall be included in the

technical proposal.

2. Cost Proposal

The cost proposal is a physically separate document and shall not

be included in the twenty (20) page limit. The cost (business) proposal

must be separate from the technical proposal. (If applicants do not

have the current version of the standard grant forms listed below, they

must download the forms from the following OMB website address:

www.whitehouse.gov.wh/eop/omb/grants/). The transmittal letter and the

grant assurances and certifications forms shall be attached to the

business proposal, which shall consist of the following:

a. Standard Form 424 ``Application for Federal Assistance,'' signed

by an official from the applicant's organization who is authorized to

enter the organization into a grant agreement with the Department of

Labor. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA) is

17.700;

b. Standard Budget Form 424A ``Budget Information Form,''; and

c. Budget Narrative; provide a narrative explanation of the budget

which describes all proposed costs and indicates how they are related

to the operation of the project. Provide this information separately

for the amount of requested Federal funding and the amount of proposed

Non-Federal contribution. In an application which proposes to fund

staff positions, the budget narrative must provide information which

describes the number of proposed positions by title and by the amount

of staff time and salary charged to Federal and Non-Federal funding

resources. The Budget Narrative provides the detailed description of

the costs reflected on the SF 424A.

C. Funding Levels

The Department expects to have $1,000,000 to be disbursed through

WANTO grants. The Department expects to make up to eight (8) awards to

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). The Women's Bureau expects awards

to range from approximately $75,000 to $150,000, depending upon the

scope of the proposal's demonstration and technical assistance

activities to be delivered.

D. Length of Grant and Grant Awards

The initial performance period for the grants awarded under this

SGA shall be for fifteen (15) months with one (1) option to extend for

up to three months as a no-cost extension to complete final reports.

Each applicant shall reflect in their application the intention to

begin operation no later than September 1998.

E. Submission

One (1) ink-signed original, complete grant application (plus five

(5) copies of the Technical Proposal and three (3) copies of the Cost

Proposal must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of

Procurement Services, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20210, not later than 4:45 p.m. ET, August 17, 1998.

Hand delivered applications must be received by the Office of

Procurement Services by that time. Any application received at the

Office of Procurement Services after 4:45 p.m. ET will not be

considered unless it is received before an award is made and:

1. It was sent by registered or certified mail not later than the

fifth calendar day before August 17, 1998 (i.e., not later than August

12, 1998);

2. It is determined by the Government that the late receipt was due

solely to mishandling by the Government after receipt at the U.S.

Department of Labor at the above address; or

3. It was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day

Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5 p.m. ET at the place

of mailing two working days, excluding weekends and Federal holidays,

prior to August 17, 1998 (i.e., not later than 5 p.m. ET August 13,

1998).

The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a

late application sent by registered or certified mail is the U.S.

Postal Service postmark on the envelope or wrapper and on the original

receipt from the U.S. Postal Service. If the postmark is not legible,

an application received after the above closing time and date shall be

processed as if mailed late. ``Postmark'' means a printed, stamped or

otherwise placed impression (not a postage meter machine impression)

that is readily identifiable without further action as having been

applied and affixed by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service on the

date of mailing. Therefore, applicants shall request that the postal

clerk place a legible hand cancellation bull's-eye postmark on both the

receipt and the wrapper or envelope.

The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a

late application sent by U.S. Postal Service Mail Next Day Service-Post

Office to Addressee is the date entered by the post office receiving

clerk on the ``Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to Addressee''

label and the postmark on the envelope or wrapper and on the original

receipt from the U.S. Postal Service. ``Postmark'' has the same meaning

as defined above. Therefore, applicants shall request that the postal

clerk place a legible hand cancellation bull's-eye postmark on both the

receipt and the envelope or wrapper.

The only acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at

the U.S. Department of Labor is the date/time stamp of the Office of

Procurement Services on the application wrapper or other documentary

evidence of receipt maintained by that office. Applications sent by E-

mail, telegram, or facsimile (Fax) will not be accepted.

Part III. The Statement of Work--Key Features

A. Introduction and Priority

All respondents to this SGA (98-04) are encouraged to carefully

read and review the material discussed in the summary section above on

this SGA. Applications that do not meet the minimum terms and

conditions of this solicitation may be disqualified. The Department has

priority interest in providing technical assistance to employers and

labor unions in nonconstruction industries, particularly manufacturing

and information technology, and in registered apprenticeships in the

skilled building trades in construction, including highway

construction, who are interested in supporting the placement and skill

development of women returning to work after welfare or other long-term

work disruptions residing in rural and urban EZ/EC communities noted in

Appendices A and

B. Grants will be awarded competitively to private, nonprofit

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)

[[Page 35960]]

with at least three (3) years of experience in providing employment and

training programs and support services to increase the participation of

women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations, particularly

for women with employment barriers, including women returning to work

after welfare and other work disruptions.

Note well: Each Proposal Must Have a Specifically Defined

Internal Evaluation Design.] (See Part II.A. Eligible Applicants,

above.)

Such experienced CBOs will deliver technical assistance to

employers and labor unions to prepare them to recruit, train, promote,

and retain women returning to work from welfare to enter and remain in

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations. The Department has

priority interest in further focusing on developing cooperative

projects in Federally designated Empowerment Zones and Enterprise

Communities (EZs/ECs) where a number of public programs are being

leveraged to revitalize their economies. Further, the Department has a

priority interest in focusing WANTO technical assistance to employers

and labor unions in nonconstruction industries, particularly in areas

with potential for good, high-pay occupations with benefits for stable

year-round work in nonconstruction industries, e.g., public utilities,

telecommunications, high-tech manufacturing (including tool and die

occupations), computer-based information technologies (including

business and professional services), high-tech health industries, and

private employers and contractors in State or Federal Department of

Transportation highway and road projects and apprenticeship in the

skilled building trades.

Bonus Points: Thirty (30) bonus points will be added to the

technical score of proposals that MUST focus on EZ/EC areas, as well as

include the priorities discussed above in the Summary section of this

SGA and noted below.

1. Provide technical assistance in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise

Communities;

2. Provide technical assistance to employers and labor unions in

nonconstruction industries, particularly in high-tech and skilled

manufacturing and information technology;

3. Provide commitment from employers and labor unions for matches

with EZ/EC area women who are returning to work after welfare and other

dependencies;

4. Provide employers and labor unions with community-wide resources

to assist employers and labor unions in providing support services--

child care, transportation, and transitional costs--so that women

returning to work can enter and complete apprenticeship and other

nontraditional training and employment;

5. Provide employers and labor unions with strategies to allow

labor force entry women to work and participate in developmental skill

and related training, both informal on-the-job/buddy systems and more

formal skill attainment.

Other projects will receive consideration and be evaluated.

B. Key Features

1. Wanto Project Proposal Submissions should provide for technical

assistance between a Community-Based Organization (CBO) and requesting

employers and labor unions, particularly nonconstruction industries.

Such an entity can also provide for the linking of pre-apprenticeship

programs to apprenticeship programs sponsored by employers and labor

unions. All technical assistance grant activity has the goal to

increase the employment of women in apprenticeship and other

nontraditional occupations.

Grant proposals must include a specific internal program evaluation

design and process and must specify expected outcomes based on the

CBO's past experience and expenditures for the following:

--The proposed number of employers and labor unions to be provided on-

site technical assistance, those to receive, and methodology for

reaching proposed goals;

--The proposed number of women to be trained, placed, promoted, and/or

retained in apprenticeship and other nontraditional employment and

methodology for reaching proposed goals;

--Any other activities for which grant funds will be expended.

2. CBOs that apply for funding to provide technical assistance must

provide information on their experience and accomplishments in

apprenticeship and nontraditional activities in the areas of: (1)

Policy, (2) program development, (3) program operation, and (4) the

provision of technical assistance to business, labor organizations, and

other activities in the employment and training community related to

increasing the participation of women in apprenticeship and

nontraditional employment.

a. List name, trade, and organizational position of tradeswomen and

other women in nontraditional occupations on staff or on your

organization's Board of Directors. Include the dates when tradeswomen

served in active paid or unpaid positions in your organization.

b. In addition, all applications must also include a management and

staff loading plan. The management plan is to include a project

organizational chart and accompanying narrative which differentiate

between elements of the applicant's staff and subcontractors or

consultants who will be retained. The staff loading plan must identify

all key tasks and the hours required to complete each task. Labor

estimates for each task must be broken down by individuals assigned to

the task, including subcontractors and consultants. All key tasks must

be charted to show time required to perform them by months or weeks.

c. Proposed projects should include a discussion of support

services to participants that include (1) transitional costs (which may

include living expenses as well as fees, union dues, uniforms, etc.),

(2) child care, and (3) transportation.

d. Proposed projects should include outreach activities to improve

apprenticeship and NTO opportunities for women in their own workplaces

as well as women seeking to enter NTO career ladder employment and

training.

e. Proposed projects should clearly identify expected outcomes in

terms of: (1) An employer or labor union workplace--number of welfare

to work placements and type of training or technical assistance

agreement, (2) number of apprenticeship training commitments and other

work commitments by employer/labor organizations, (3) number of

participants moving into higher level NTO employment, (4) number of

women participants moving from pre-apprenticeship into a sponsored

apprenticeship program, and (5) number of pre-apprenticeship women

moving into permanent employment without participating in an

apprenticeship program.

f. Proposed project submissions should include a listing of all

items for which grant funds will be expended. (Do not include any cost

information for this item in the technical proposal, but expenditure

items MUST be listed.)

g. Proposed project submissions should include any leverage or co-

funding anticipated by this submission, particularly leverage with

other specific EZ/EC programs (e.g., HUD or USDA) and interaction with

overall EZ/EC program contacts listed with EZ/EC

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cities and areas listed in Appendices A and B.

h. Proposed project submissions should include copies of the CBO's

budget and major funding sources for the past three (3) years,

including foundation and government grants and other types of funding.

In addition to the grant's final report, proposed project

submissions should include plans for a ``how-to-do-it'' project

replication manual, including awareness/outreach material, technical

assistance and curriculum manual(s) and all other materials developed

as a result of the grant activities. All grant materials should be

submitted with ``hard copy'' and electronic (computer-based) copy.

j. The proposed project submission should include any activities to

encourage and promote the continuation or expansion of grant activities

beyond the grant's period of program performance.

Part IV. Evaluation Criteria and Selection

Applicants are advised that selection for a grant award is to be

made after careful evaluation of technical applications by a panel.

Each panelist will evaluate applications against the various criteria

on the basis of 100 points. The scores will then serve as the primary

basis to select applications for a potential award. Clarification may

be requested of grant applicants if the situation so warrants it.

Please see Part III, Sections A and B for additional information on the

elements against which proposals will be reviewed. After proposals are

fully evaluated for responsiveness to Technical Evaluation Criteria

1.a.-1.c., the distribution of bonus points will be determined. Only

those proposals whose technical score falls within the technically

acceptable range will be eligible to receive bonus points.

1. Technical Evaluation Criteria--Points

a. Capabilities and Qualifications of CBO and Staff (NTO

experience, education, and work with the community for social and/or

economic change to support women): 50 points.

b. Established Linkages and Relationship with Employers, Labor

Unions, EZ/EC Communities and Welfare to Work Social Agencies: 25

points.

c. Quality and Scope of WANTO Project: 25 points. (Must include a

specific internal program evaluation design. Such as, proposed number

of employers, labor unions for on-site technical assistance, number of

women affected and served by the WANTO project and placed in

apprenticeship or nontraditional employment; proposed career ladder and

technical assistance strategies to promote the increase in women in

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations for employers and labor

unions; proposed job placement outcomes.)

2. Bonus Points

a. Priority Focus: 30 points. (See Part III.A. Statement of Work--

Key Features, Bonus Points.)

3. Cost Criteria

Proposals will be scored, based on their costs in relation to other

proposals submitted in response to this SGA.

4. Total Score

Technical quality of proposals will be weighted three (3) times the

estimated price in ranking proposals, for purposes of selections for

awards. Proposals received will be evaluated by a review panel based on

the criteria immediately above, in Technical Evaluation Criteria 1 and

2. The panel's recommendations will be advisory, and final awards will

be made based on the best interests of the Government, including but

not limited to such factors as technical quality, geographic balance,

occupational/industrial impact, and diversity in service providers.

The Department wishes to make it clear that it is not simply the

best written proposals that will be chosen, but rather those which

demonstrate the greatest experience and commitment to assisting

employers and labor organizations to successfully develop successful

strategies to increase the participation of women in higher-paying

apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations and to expand the

employment and self-sufficiency options of women returning to work

after welfare and other work and family disruptions. In addition, the

Department considers geographic and race-ethnic diversity in the array

of award-winning proposals important considerations in making the final

awards.

The submission of the same proposal from any prior year WANTO

competition does not guarantee an award under this solicitation.

Although the Government reserves the right to award on the basis of the

initial proposal submission, the Government may establish a competitive

range or technically acceptable range based upon proposal evaluation,

for the purpose of selecting qualified applicants. The panel's

conclusions are advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant

Officer. The Government reserves the right to ask for clarification or

hold discussions, but is not obligated to do so. The Grant Officer's

determination for award under this SGA 98-04 is the final agency

action.

Part V

A. Deliverables

(This section is provided only so that grantees may more accurately

estimate the staffing budgetary requirements when preparing their

proposal. Applicants are to exclude from their cost proposal the cost

of any requested travel to Washington, DC.)

1. No later than four (4) weeks after an award, the grantees and

partners shall meet with the Women's Bureau and the Bureau of

Apprenticeship and Training at the Post-Award Conference to discuss the

demonstration project and related components and technical assistance

activities, time lines, technical assistance outcomes, assessment for

comment, and final approval. The grantees and partners and the

Department will discuss and make decisions on the following program

activities:

a. The proposed technical assistance commitments for employment,

apprenticeship and related nontraditional occupation activities and

responsibilities; the number of partnerships with EZ/EC communities,

employers and labor unions to be served.

b. The methodology the proposed partnership will use to support/

change management and employee attitudes to promote female workers in

nontraditional occupations.

c. The types of systemic change anticipated by technical assistance

strategies anticipated to be incorporated into ongoing employer

recruitment, hiring, training, and promotion of women in apprenticeship

and apprenticeable nontraditional occupations.

d. The occupational, industrial, and geographical impact

anticipated.

e. The supportive services to be provided to employers and women

after successful placement into employment, apprenticeship, or other

supporting nontraditional occupations.

f. The plan for the development and maintenance of a relationship

with the State level of the Federal Bureau of Apprenticeship and

Training and the State Apprenticeship Council.

The Women's Bureau and the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training

will provide further input orally and in writing, if necessary, within

ten (10) working days after the Post-Award Conference.

1. No later than ten (10) weeks after an award, the grantee(s) and

the

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Women's Bureau will confirm the ``plan of action'' or detailed time

line for program implementation.

2. No later than twelve (12) weeks after an award, the grantee(s)

shall have begun the provision of technical assistance to employers and

labor unions to recruit, select, train, place, retain, and other areas

of preparation to promote the increase of women in apprenticeable

occupations and other nontraditional training for women, characterized

by employment growth and above average earnings.

3. No later than sixteen (16) weeks after an award, the first

quarterly progress report of work done under this grant will be due.

Thereafter, quarterly reports will be due twenty (20) working days

after the end of each of the remaining quarters.

Quarterly progress reports must include:

a. A description of overall progress on work performed during the

reporting period--(a) the number of employers and labor unions provided

on-site, off-site (conferences, workshops, seminars, training, etc.,

(b) number of women trained (on and off the workplace), placed in

apprenticeship or other nontraditional employment. Describe: (1) Any

linkages of pre-apprenticeship (on and off a workplace) with sponsored

apprenticeship: Number of women effected or participating in programs;

include name and address of workplace/company and person responsible

for the operation, (2) number of employers and labor unions receiving

technical assistance--name, address, size of the workplace, including

proportion of women, include brief profiles of employers and labor

organizations, (3) describe any systemic workplace and policy changes--

actual or in process, including the hiring and promotion of women

already in the workplace, career ladders or other training activities,

(4) public presentations, (5) media articles or appearances, (6)

publications disseminated, and (7) publications developed.

b. An indication of any current problems which may impede the

performance of the grant and the proposed corrective action.

c. A discussion of work to be performed during the next reporting

period.

Between scheduled reporting dates the grantee(s) also shall

immediately inform the Grant Officer's Technical Representative (GOTR)

of significant developments affecting the grantee's ability to

accomplish the work.

5. No later than sixty-four (64) weeks after an award, the

grantee(s) shall submit three (3) copies of the draft Final Report, an

integrated draft analysis of the process and results of the technical

assistance activities during the year. The Women's Bureau and the

Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training will provide written comments on

the draft Report within twenty (20) working days if substantive

problems are identified. The grantee's response to these comments shall

be incorporated into the Final Report.

6. The Final Report shall cover findings, final performance data,

outcome results and assessment, and employer or labor organization

plans for follow-up of participants. The Final Report shall provide all

information to replicate the project including copies of curriculums,

technical assistance materials developed for the project and technical

assistance--videos, posters, notices, etc., as well as any plans for

replication and dissemination of information. An Executive Summary of

the findings and recommendations shall be included in the Final Report,

completely separate or separately combined with the Final Report.

No later than sixty-four (64) weeks after an award, the grantee(s)

shall (1) submit one (1) diskette (IBM compatible, WordPerfect 6.1),

one (1) camera-ready copy of the Final Report, and five (5) copies of

the camera-ready Final Report, bound in a professional manner, and not

a collection of loose leaf sheets, and (2) computer-based, electronic

files for each of the other products--e.g., manual(s), curriculums,

``how-to-do-it'' handbooks, videos, etc.--paid for with grant funds,

along with five (5) copies of the final camera-ready products.

B. Administrative Provisions

The grant awarded under this SGA shall be subject to the following

administrative standards and provisions:

29 CFR Part 97--Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and

Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments;

29 CFR Part 96--Federal Standards for Audit of Federally Funded Grants,

Contracts and Agreements;

29 CFR Part 95--Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and

Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, etc.

C. Certifications and Assurances

If the applicant is awarded a grant, they are required to operate

the program in accordance with the following Certifications and

Assurances. An original signed and dated signature page providing the

following Certifications and Assurances must accompany the Cost

Proposal. Each can be downloaded from the OMB website address

www.whitehouse.gov/wh/eop/omb/grants/.

D. Allowable Costs

Determinations of allowable costs shall be made in accordance with

the following applicable Federal cost principles:

a. State and Local Governments--OMB Circular A-87.

b. Educational Institutions--OMB Circular A-21.

c. Nonprofit Organizations--OMB Circular S-122.

d. Profit-making Commercial Firms--48 CFR Part 31.

Signed at Washington, DC., on June 24, 1998.

Lawrence J. Kuss,

Grant Officer.

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[FR Doc. 98-17401 Filed 6-30-98; 8:45 am]

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