Information Technology Workforce Program Design Grant Program
Questions & AnswersUpdated 10/27/14
Program Goals
Q: Regarding Section 3 page 5 of the IT Planning Grant. Under B. Goals of the Grant Program – the second (b) build regional training capacity across the Commonwealth. Do you mean a vouchering component with the ability to work with IT training vendors across Massachusetts to support jobseekers outside our region?
A: No. The intent of the grant program as a whole is to build capacity across the Commonwealth.
The intent of individual grants is to build regional training capacity.
Q: On page 5 of the RFP there are several goals of the grant program listed. Can you confirm that all applicants must propose to achieve the goals of a) design training and employment programs to prepare and place unemployed and underemployed individuals in information technology occupations and b) build regional training capacity across the Commonwealth for information technology occupations? Are the other goals optional?
A: Yes, all applicants must plan to address the following two goals: a) design training and employment programs to prepare and place unemployed and underemployed individuals in information technology occupations; and b) build regional training capacity across the
Commonwealth for information technology occupations. Additionally, applicants may select one or more of the following activities to include in their program design activity. 1) improve employment in information technology occupations for low-income individuals, women and minorities; 2) develop strong career awareness and advising programs for kindergarten to grade
12, inclusive, postsecondary, disconnected youth, underemployed workers and unemployed adults; 3) increase support for internship and apprentice training; 4) boost industry-relevant instructor capacity for high school and postsecondary programs.
Partners
Q: Can we partner with job placement firms?
A: Yes. However, please remember that this RFP is seeking proposals to conduct program design for a future training program. Your program design workplan may include activities that involve job placement firms.

Target Population
Q; In our job market we have many individuals that are working as consultants or on a temporary basis in information technology occupations. Can we serve these individuals if our goal is to place them into full-time permanent jobs?
A: Yes, as long as these individuals meet the definition of underemployed, which includes working in a low wage job. Applicants are encouraged to include the design of a recruitment and selection process into their program design activities to ensure they select candidates for training that are work ready and committed to pursuing jobs in the targeted occupations and with employer partners identified by the partnership.
Q: One of our partners is an owner of an information technology company that would like to start a community IT service Corps which would help repair the computers of low-income individuals. The company would provide free oversight of young IT student volunteers (or working for a small stipend). Would working with in-school young adults be an appropriate target population for this planning grant?
A: All applicants must design training and employment programs to prepare and place unemployed and underemployed individuals for information technology occupations. These jobs must be paid permanent payroll jobs. Based on this requirement, an application that solely focused on designing a program for youth volunteers would not meet the specifications of the RFP.
However, if applications meet the required goals of the grant program, they may also choose to include one of the optional activities listed on page 5 of the RFP. These activities include an option to develop "strong career awareness and advising program for kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive postsecondary, disconnected youth, underemployed workers and unemployed adults.”
We encourage you to review these optional additional activities to determine if your idea for a youth volunteer program would meet the specifications of one of these additional optional activities.
Q: In the last sentence of Item C in the Overview, at the bottom of Target Populations, there is language that reads as follows: This program is not intended to support costs of designing internal pipeline strategies of individual businesses or skills upgrading programs for incumbent
workers. Does this language negate the language in section C that reads in part: “grant funds to be used to be used as design training programs that meet the needs of Massachusetts residents who are unemployed. Programs designed for underemployed workers may also qualify”

A: The primary focus of the program design work should be to design a program for unemployed individuals. We included the reference to underemployed because we recognize that there are individuals who are working in low-wage jobs who:
1.
may wish to prepare for an information technology occupation as a strategy for increasing their earnings and earning potential, and
2.
might have a work schedule that would allow them to participate in a training program.
Because the Workforce Training Fund is available to support internal pipeline programs or skills upgrading programs for incumbent workers, we are not seeking programs that are designed for these purposes.
Q: Can we partner with local IT companies whom offer training programs to their underemployed employees in order to promote from within?
A: No. These funds should not be used to replace existing available resources. The Workforce
Training Fund is available to train incumbent workers.
Application Submission
Q: Do we have to submit the Curriculum Development template as part of our program design application?
A: No. If you propose to use program design grant funds to develop curriculum, you will be expected to submit this curriculum as a deliverable of your grant, using the format provided. If you do not propose to develop curriculum with the program design grant you will not need to complete this template.
Funding & Budget
Q: If we submit a proposal that is substantially over that amount, how will it be treated? Will it even be considered? Can it be accepted under an exception to the RFP?
A: The maximum award amount is $25,000. Any application requesting more than $25,000 will not meet the threshold criteria and therefore not be reviewed for funding.
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