PHOENIX — A multimillion-dollar grant will help Arizona students find technical training and earn college degrees, officials announced Thursday.

The $3.9 million state-funded grant will fund a technology-focused training program that will initially be rolled out in Arizona, Maryland and California.

Specifically, the funds for the second round of the Apprenticeship Building America (ABA2) program come from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Employment and Training Administration.

The purpose of ABA2 grants is to support public and private partnerships that promote registered apprenticeship programs.

Essentially, these government grants are cash injections into programs that train workers for well-paying jobs.

Arizona workers are among the lucky few who will soon have access to this new potential career path.

Where will the $3.9 million in funding go?

The $3.9 million grant will go to the University of Maryland Global Campus and OpenClassrooms.

According to a press release, both groups will participate in a transformation project to improve training programs.

Specifically, the money is to be used to modernize, expand and diversify registered vocational training courses with a technical focus.

This will train 100 pre-apprentices and 400 apprentices so that they are prepared for jobs in areas with high demand.

Although the program will initially be introduced in Arizona, Maryland and California, it will be gradually expanded over the four-year term of the grant.

UMGC President Gregory Fowler said he is proud to partner with OpenClassrooms to promote apprenticeships.

“This grant enables us to make measurable progress toward important state and national goals: reducing skills gaps and creating additional pathways to rewarding careers, while building the skilled and diverse workforce needed to drive economic growth and prosperity,” Fowler said in a press release.

In which sectors do the trainees work?

Funded with a $3.9 million grant, the program will use a unique “Earn, Learn and Grow” teaching model. Students will be trained for jobs in one of these fields:

• Cybersecurity analyst.
• Data analyst.
• Application developer.
• Digital marketer.
• Helpdesk technician.

Students who participate in this program earn money, learn on the job, and earn college credits at the same time.

The program will primarily focus on supporting veterans and students from underserved communities.