SANTA FE, June 7, 2023 – The City of Santa Fe’s Office of Economic Development (OED) has been selected for the National League of Cities and the Department of Labor’s Good Jobs' Great Cities Academy.

Santa Fe is one of 15 cities from across the nation chosen for this historic partnership and is proud to join a new peer-learning cohort led by the National League of Cities and the Department of Labor to accelerate city efforts to design, develop, and launch a workforce initiative to build pathways into good jobs.  

The Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy will work with municipalities to spur innovative and scalable city-supported solutions that upskill and reskill workers into quality, high-demand jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing jobs made possible by investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with a focus on supporting workers from historically underserved and underrepresented communities. 

"Santa Fe is committed to pathways for success for everyone in our city, particularly those who could benefit from extra support and mentoring," said Mayor Alan Webber. "With this award and with the support of our partners, we’re going to fast-track good people into good jobs and support both our community members and the economic growth of our city at the same time."

"We need to better align the ways that we are preparing New Mexico’s workforce for opportunities in rapidly growing career fields – from health care and childcare to clean energy and skilled construction trades," said Senator Martin Heinrich, who worked to secure the funding for the Good Jobs, Great Cities initiative on the federal level. "These federal resources will help the City of Santa Fe stand up a coordinated partnership and targeted support system. This will make our workforce pipeline more successful and help more New Mexicans train for quality careers."

This once-in-a-generation academy placement will help the OED build out and support workforce initiatives in Santa Fe and aid the City in creating more opportunities for community members to have access to training for a skilled workforce.  

For more information and updates regarding this initiative, sign up for OED’s biweekly newsletter or contact Jason Grinage, jxgrinage@santafenm.gov, or Johanna Nelson, jcnelson@santafenm.gov.