Impact of the H-1B Ready to Work Program

For nearly three decades, defense manufacturing firm Bright Lights USA has supplied mechanical components for the military of the United States and allied nations. Led by founding CEO Daniel Farber, Bright Lights USA has also been involved in government programs that develop the American workforce. 

Bright Lights USA recently participated in an event hosted by the H-1B Ready to Work program, which allocated funding to enable people who are chronically unemployed to gain the skills they need to obtain employment in high-demand fields. Since 2014, the Department of Labor has awarded workforce development programs more than $170 million annually in multiyear grants to meet the program’s objectives. 

From January to March 2018, nearly 20,000 people participated in a Ready to Work-funded program. The majority of these participants had been unemployed for more than six months. Approximately 40 percent had found work by the end of March.