Renee Timberlake, representing the Built Environment Collaborative powered by Greater Cleveland Works, told the Cuyahoga County Equity Commission on Nov. 20 that the program is funded with $10,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded by the City of Cleveland to Greater Cleveland Works to operate a trades and built‑environment workforce pipeline.

Timberlake said the initiative aims to increase the number of Cleveland residents working in building trades, infrastructure and aligned careers. The program sets demographic targets for participants — Timberlake cited targets of roughly 65% Black Cleveland residents, 13% Latinx Cleveland residents and 30% women — and seeks to place participants in paid apprenticeships and employment.

According to Timberlake, the $10 million is fully allocated: about $8 million for program support to training providers, $1 million for minority business enterprise (MBE) development and $1 million for a barrier‑removal fund to help participants cover transportation, equipment, licensing and other obstacles. She described the barrier fund as flexible and targeted, citing examples in which the program paid more than $5,000 to clear an applicant’s unpaid insurance debt, covered driver’s‑license reinstatement fees and paid for vehicle repair so a small business owner could resume contract work.

Timberlake said approximately $650,000 of the $1 million barrier fund had been distributed (the presentation language was imprecise on the exact figure). She described other uses as gear and equipment for apprentices, transportation assistance (car repairs, bus passes, gas cards), housing assistance, union initiation fees and occasional childcare support.

Timberlake also said the collaborative has performance benchmarks the board tracks quarterly (she cited a current participant count of 152) and aims for "grant‑impacted placements" — participants placed into paid apprenticeship positions or employment. She highlighted recent participant success stories and cited prevailing‑wage figures shown on slides (a cited figure of $33.83 per hour without benefits for certain roles), while noting apprenticeships move workers toward higher pay and benefits over time.

On geographic eligibility, Timberlake said the collaborative is targeted to City of Cleveland residents and that the distinction has required turning away some applicants who live in neighboring jurisdictions. To help address that, she said the collaborative received $60,000 from the Cleveland Foundation to expand the barrier‑removal fund for county residents specifically in support of the built environment collaborative’s participants.

Timberlake described ongoing market dynamics — including some contractor dislocation from solar projects and a multi‑level skills gap that requires both entry‑level and upskilling investments — and emphasized partnerships with unions, training providers and MBE supports to move participants into apprenticeships and long‑term careers.

The commission thanked Timberlake and discussed possible coordination between county reentry or workforce units and the collaborative’s partners to improve outreach to justice‑involved applicants.