FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2025
Contact
Angela Herrera Perez, Senior Public Information Specialist
press@opportunity.lacounty.gov
LA County DEO Opens $1 Million High Road Training Partnership Fund Application for Digital Navigators
Request for New and Revised Applications Now Open Through August 29
Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has opened a Request for Applications (RFA) for up to $1 million to fund a High Road Training Partnership (HRTP) for Digital Navigators. The application portal opens Monday, August 4, and will remain open through Friday, August 29, at 5:00 PM. Finalists will be notified in October.
Digital Navigators are an earmarked investment area for DEO’s recently launched $17 million HRTP Fund. In July, the HRTP Fund issued grants between $500,000 and $1 million to 19 awardees that will train over 1,800 workers and create pathways to quality jobs in high-growth sectors across LA County, using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the County’s Care First Community Investment (CFCI). An HRTP for Digital Navigators was not awarded in the first round in July.
Proposals must reflect a partner-driven model that addresses the full Digital Navigators framework, including 1) providing technology skills training, 2) providing on-the-job training to individuals to serve as Digital Navigators, who support or serve communities with limited technological access with accessing critical digital resources, using digital devices, developing digital skills, and completing digital projects, and 3) providing direct pathways into quality, living-wage technology or technology-related roles in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors.
This opportunity is reopened to prior HRTP Fund applicants and new applicant teams ready to build inclusive, community-rooted technology career pathways. To be eligible, applicants must include four key partners: a convener, an employer, a training provider, and a labor or worker representative, each with a physical LA County. Programs must demonstrate formal commitments from all required partners, serve at least two historically underserved populations, and align with HRTP goals of job quality, equity, and sustainability.
The Digital Navigators RFA Rider and link to the application portal are available on the HRTP Fund website at highroadlac.com alongside supporting information and guidance for applicants. New applicants must complete a full submission, while returning applicants may revise and resubmit their proposals to meet all Digital Navigators and HRTP Fund requirements. A revised FAQ will be posted by August 18; applicant questions must be submitted no later than August 11 at 3:00 PM PT.
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About DEO: The LA County Department of Economic Opportunity, launched in July 2022, helps job seekers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, major industries, and communities access life changing opportunities, and is also home to the Office of Small Business, LA County’s one-stop shop dedicated to prospective entrepreneurs and small business owners. Stay connected with DEO! Follow @EconOppLA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, or visit opportunity.lacounty.gov to learn about DEO services.