Round 2 Request for Proposals — 2026

Converting America's economic transformation into lasting earnings gains for workers — by backing the employer-side job designs and workplace practices that a durable payer will carry forward.

Why This Moment Matters

Across the United States, the modernization of energy systems, physical infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing is creating sustained demand for skilled workers — electricians, welders, energy technicians, construction managers, and industrial specialists — even as the broader labor market has slowed. BLS projects that energy-related occupations will be among the fastest-growing through 2034, and critical trades face significant shortages as experienced workers retire. At the same time, AI-driven disruption is displacing mid-career workers and entry-level knowledge roles, creating a strong and underserved candidate pool for durable trade pathways.

Currently, too many people enroll in training but never finish, or complete but do not stay in a job, often because the job structures that keep them in their careers are not well supported. Round 2 of the Powering Economic Opportunity Fund (PEOF) invests in what makes gains last and in who will pay for them after philanthropic investment.

2026 has brought an unprecedented wave of new capital into skilled trades training: major public, corporate, and philanthropic commitments are expanding pre-apprenticeship access, training capacity, and delivery at national scale. PEOF is designed to ensure that these investments lead to lasting wage outcomes and high ROI by actively investigating and addressing employer practice changes that can reduce attrition and improve a person’s end-to-end journey.

Learnings from Round 1

• Employer alignment matters most. Initiatives with active employer or union engagement moved faster from training to placement and adapted more effectively as conditions changed. In Round 2, a dedicated partnership will be an eligibility threshold to ensure long-term economic mobility for workers.
• Regional specificity outperforms broad ambition. Programs grounded in specific state or regional labor demand, and able to articulate why their approach fits that context, showed consistently stronger outcomes.
• Job quality and access go together. Training alone was rarely sufficient. Initiatives that paired skill development with wraparound supports had higher projected lifetime earnings.
• Readiness accelerates results. Projects with established partnerships and clear execution pathways moved most quickly from funding to outcomes.

Round 2 Priorities

Round 2 will invest in initiatives that convert today's economic transformation into lasting income gains for workers who have been locked out of high-quality employment in renewable energy, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Our focus is on economic mobility, centered on sustained employment, retention, and measurable, durable increases in lifetime earnings.

The core focus of Round 2 centers on partnership and practice change. Every proposal must include an employer partnership element and present a dependable, employer-side approach, leading to wage gains.

The application can be found ***here.***

Threshold Requirement — Dedicated Partnership with an Association, Employer, or Union

All applicants must demonstrate an active, named partnership with an employer, a union, an association, or an industry partner. This can include:

• Hiring commitments, paid work-based learning, employer-recognized credentials, curriculum co-design, or employer co-investment, among others.
• Activities will have a meaningful and measurable impact on lifetime income gains.

Round 1 showed these partnerships are the strongest predictor of speed and durability. Applications without one will not advance past concept note review.