Following Tester Push, Montana Job Corps Centers Reopen to In-Person Activities

Senator: “These centers have been closed for far too long, and I’m glad to see that the Department of Labor will answer my calls to reopen them for in-person activities.”

After a months-long push, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that Montana’s Job Corps Civilian Conservation Corps Centers will be reopening for in-person activities.

“Montana’s Job Corps Centers provide young adults with critical opportunities to learn skills, succeed in good-paying jobs, and improve our state,” said Tester. “These centers have been closed for far too long, and I’m glad to see that the Department of Labor will answer my calls to reopen them for in-person activities. I’ll keep fighting for the hardworking Montanans and businesses that rely on Job Corps centers like Trapper Creek and Anaconda, so we can make sure our economy fully rebounds from this pandemic.”

Montana’s two Job Corps Civilian Conservation Corps Centers in Anaconda and Darby provide hands-on job training programs to hundreds of Montanans and have been closed for in person activities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, Tester pushed the Department of Labor to resume in-person activities at the Montana centers. Recently, Tester sent a letter to the Department of Labor requesting that the Department reconsider current federal guidance that restricts in-person enrollment at the Trapper Creek and Anaconda Job Corps Centers. And in May, Tester sent a letter to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack encouraging them to move forward in reopening Montana’s Centers.

Tester has been Montana’s leading champion for defending the Trapper Creek and Anaconda Job Corps Centers. In 2019, when the Trump Administration attempted to close or privatize the centers, Tester led the fight to reverse the decision. After sustained pressure from Tester, the Administration caved and kept the centers open, and he pushed legislation through Congress and into law to protect the centers moving forward.

Job Corps Civilian Conservation Corps Centers operate in 17 national forests and grasslands across 16 states – including Montana – and train over 4,000 young adults a year, many of whom are at-risk youth from low-income, rural communities, providing critical skills to help them succeed in a 21st century economy.