Workforce development programs across Maryland got a boost this week as Gov. Wes Moore and the state’s Department of Labor and Department of Transportation announced $4 million in grants.

The money comes through the Road to Careers program funded by a $24 million federal grant, designed to help Marylanders make careers in the transportation and construction sectors through pre-apprentice and apprenticeship opportunities.

“This is a continuation of our multi-year push to expand apprenticeships, and the entire state is going to benefit,” Moore said in a statement Tuesday.

Baltimore’s Civic Works, HER Resiliency Center, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and the Baltimore side of the Construction Trades Workforce Initiative each received a $500,000 award.

Outside the city, Chesapeake College, Hagerstown Community College, the Ironworkers Local Union 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee and the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland also won funding to support programs in Caroline, Washington, Prince George’s and other counties.

These programs are expected to lead to the training of nearly 1,200 Marylanders in the construction industry, according to a Tuesday press release.

The multimillion-dollar grant behind Road to Careers was part of former President Joe Biden’s agenda to create career pathways to stable, good-paying jobs that don’t require a college education.

The Biden-Harris administration awarded Maryland $24 million last November to launch the initiative. The Maryland Department of Labor will disperse $4 million in each of the next six years.

Maryland’s ability to land this federal funding was thanks, in part, to Baltimore being one of five of the inaugural Investing in America Workforce Hubs, the White House said at the time.

Baltimore has heavy demand for construction jobs as Amtrak and the federal government replace the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, the state replaces the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge and Hellenic Cables brings its underwater cable factory to Wagner’s Point.

“We’re going to specifically need construction workers, and we’re going to help them fill that need,” said Natasha Guynes, founder and CEO of HER Resiliency Center.

HER Resiliency Center, a nonprofit serving 18- to 25-year-old women in Baltimore and Washington, plans to use the funds to improve the organization’s workforce development program, Triple Crown Academy.

The academy’s 18-month program, which began in September, provides a pathway for women to find a career in the construction industry and reach financial independence through job training, soft skills development and individual support.

Participants, some of whom are domestic violence survivors or have experienced homelessness, complete an eight-week pre-apprenticeship training, followed by on-the-job training and access to a union apprenticeship program.

The $500,000 grant will primarily go toward HER Resiliency Center’s ability to provide transitional housing to around 20 women as they make their way toward a sustainable and stable career in the trades, Guynes said.

“This funding is serving a whole person so that she can grow and be part of the solution,” Guynes said.

The win for these workforce development programs comes as others have lost federal funding. The Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation lost two grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency in May, as the Trump administration drastically changes federal agencies and targets diversity, equity and inclusion.

But in Maryland Moore is pushing for apprenticeship opportunities across state departments.

During National Apprenticeship Week in November, Moore created the Governor’s Apprenticeship Pledge to encourage industry leaders to develop and expand learning and job opportunities. The state earmarked a $1.8 million investment in Maryland community colleges to build a talent pipeline in the cybersecurity sector.

And the Maryland State Department of Education, supported by the Apprenticeship Maryland Program, has a mandate for more than 45% of graduating students to leave high school with a certification or credential for a technical skill by the end of the decade.