With the SOAR award in January 2009, the CCCs were selected as the recipient of a fourth highly-competitive U.S. Department of Labor Community-Based Job Training Grant (USDOL CBJTG), which attracted 274 proposals resulting in a total of 68 awards in 36 states. This fourth award makes Connecticut the only state in the nation to receive awards in all four rounds of the Community-Based Job Training initiative which has focused on building the capacity of the nation’s community colleges to prepare a skilled workforce to fuel economic growth. The SMART grant was awarded in 2008, and two grants to prepare students for programs and careers in Nursing and Allied Health were awarded in 2005 and 2006. Governor M. Jodi Rell endorsed the grant proposal and applauded “the success of the previous grants in health care and manufacturing in strengthening the partnerships of Connecticut’s Community College System with the state’s leading businesses and industries.”