Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002681
The National Lab Jobs ACCESS Program (DE FOA 0002681) is a Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) grant opportunity designed to build and strengthen the skilled trades and technician workforce needed across the nuclear security enterprise. NNSA frames this as a national security workforce priority: the laboratories and production facilities that support stockpile stewardship, treaty verification, counterproliferation, nuclear threat detection, and broader technical readiness depend on having enough qualified people not only in scientific and engineering roles, but also in hands-on, mission-critical skilled trades and modern technician positions. The program was created in response to a gap NNSA sees in existing workforce pipelines, which have traditionally emphasized university-based pathways while leaving a major need in areas tied to manufacturing, maintenance, and emerging technical support roles that are essential to modernization efforts in the weapons production complex.
ACCESS stands for Apprenticeships for Complete and Committed Employment for Specialized Skills, and it was established under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92, Section 3122). In practical terms, the grants support the creation or expansion of pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that connect secondary school and postsecondary students to recognized postsecondary credentials and job-ready skills aligned with the immediate and ongoing hiring needs at DOE National Laboratories and NNSA covered facilities. The opportunity emphasizes both traditional technician and skilled trade roles as well as emerging positions, explicitly including examples such as machinists and cybersecurity technicians. A key point is that the skills and qualifications targeted by these programs are not meant to be generic; they are to be defined based on workforce needs identified by the Secretary of Energy in consultation with National Laboratory Directors, ensuring that training is directly tied to real, near-term labor demand in the nuclear security ecosystem.
The program has several required structural features that shape what funded projects must look like. First, the apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship must lead to recognized credentials for participating students, so the outcome is something portable and formally valued in the labor market rather than informal training alone. Second, the program must be established in consultation with a National Laboratory or an NNSA covered facility, which anchors the training partnership to an actual end-user employer environment and helps ensure the curriculum and competencies match site needs. Third, the apprenticeship must be registered with and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor or an applicable State apprenticeship agency, meaning it must meet formal apprenticeship standards rather than operating as an unregistered training initiative. Finally, the program must ensure participants do not displace paid employees, which is an important labor safeguard intended to prevent apprentices from being used as substitutes for existing workers.
From a funding standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity within the Employment, Labor and Training activity category (CFDA 81.251). The notice lists an expected 10 awards with an award ceiling of $500,000 per award. The opportunity was posted with a creation date of April 26, 2022, and an original closing date of July 7, 2022. Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with the specific eligible applicant types clarified in the full announcement under the additional eligibility information section, indicating that applicants should rely on the detailed FOA language to confirm whether their organization type qualifies.
Overall, the ACCESS Program is best understood as a workforce pipeline investment focused on skilled trades, crafts, and technician roles that are essential to NNSA mission execution and long-term modernization. It prioritizes formal, credentialed, and registered apprenticeship structures; direct collaboration with labs or NNSA facilities; training tied tightly to identified workforce shortages; and participant protections that prevent undercutting existing paid employment.Apply for DE FOA 0002681
- The Department of Energy, NNSA in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Lab Jobs ACCESS Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.251.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 26, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 07, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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