U.S. Department of Labor Awards LearningWorks $1.5 Million Grant
Equipping Maine learners with the confidence and skills to realize their full potential
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August 7, 2026 |
Our agency is pleased to announce that we were recently awarded a YouthBuild grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Over the next three years, the grant will provide $1.5 million in funding for LearningWorks YouthBuild (LWYB), an alternative education and job training program for youth who have not completed high school. Students receive academic instruction and support to obtain their high school diploma while receiving training in construction and culinary arts. Upon completion, students are prepared to advance in various career pathways, from apprenticeships to enrollment in postsecondary education. LWYB is an affiliate of YouthBuild Global and is the only YouthBuild program in Maine. We have been operating continuously for over three decades and serve students from fourteen cities and towns across Cumberland and York counties.
This was an intensely competitive grant process in which less than 30% of applicants received funding. LearningWorks was one of only four programs in New England to secure an award. We are grateful to our Congressional delegation – Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree – for supporting our application. In addition, we appreciate the generous investments in our program by the Hudson Foundation, the Maine Children’s Cabinet and the Department of Economic & Community Development.
“We are immensely proud of our work and appreciate the confidence that so many have placed in us to sustain this transformational program,” said Tom McLaughlin, Executive Director. “We will use these resources wisely to equip local youth with the confidence and skills to enter and enhance Maine’s workforce.” The newest cohort of eager students, the largest in our program’s history, will begin LWYB in early August.
LWYB students lay wood flooring for an affordable housing renovation project.