Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) Grant Program (Round 1 Funding)

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has announced $3 million in available grant funding under the FY2026 Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) grant program.

The PACE program provides funding to provide training to prepare participants for placement into placement in registered apprenticeship programs, employment or other quality outcomes with partner employers and provide quality support services to ensure success for placement into registered apprenticeship and employment.

For eligibility details and more information, including submission deadlines, please read the full Notice of Grant Opportunity HERE.

Additional grant opportunities offered by NJDOL can be viewed at NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development Grants.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Office of Apprenticeship and Business Services seeks to encourage the growth of career pathway opportunities for people disconnected from employment, training, and education. Within the workforce development system, pre-apprenticeships serve a critical role for people to acquire career-specific skills, advance workreadiness, and connect them to longer-term career opportunities. The New Jersey Builder’s Utilization Initiative for Labor Diversity (NJBUILD) legislation is designed to provide training opportunities for minorities and women in the construction trades and construction-related trades so that minorities and women can realize equal employment opportunity in public contracting. All state agencies are required to pay one-half of one percent of the total cost of construction contracts that are equal to or greater than $1,000,000 to the NJBUILD fund immediately upon award of the contract. This funding allows NJDOL to meet the requirements of the NJBUILD legislation. The Women and Minority Veterans in Construction Trades Program (WMVIC) seeks to eliminate economic barriers commonly associated with an individual’s inability to invest in skills training and work readiness and connect women veterans and/or minority veterans that are National Guard, Reserve, retired and transitioning active-duty military members to quality career and training opportunities in the building and construction industry. This grant program provides women veterans and minority veterans with training to prepare them for placement in Registered Apprenticeship programs and/or full-time, long-term employment in construction industry or building and construction trades occupations and provides quality support services to ensure successful placement and retention in employment.  Funding from this grant announcement shall be used to support training in the construction and building trades. Any construction craft or administrative, support, or operational occupations are acceptable. This includes professional titles as well as skilled trades.