If the headline doesn’t get you, the price tag might: $500 million.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis was in Memphis last week to announce five grant competitions, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that will prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

Sharpen your pencils. Four of the contests are aimed at training workers through various national, state and community outlets, according to Solis:

• Energy Training Partnership Grants;
• Pathways Out of Poverty Grants;
• State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants;
• Green Capacity Building Grants.

Competition No. 5, for State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants, will fund workforce agencies to point people to careers in green industries.

The grants, of course, will come from the federal stimulus package, aka the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

More details are in the Federal Register (.pdf) and at the Department of Labor Web site.

Contests can bring out the best in people, so let’s see who wins.

Any predictions? Is this the best way to spend $500 million on green jobs?

Related posts:

• Data, Apps, and Maps: Working Toward a GreenGov
• Training Veterans for the Clean Energy Economy
• Where Are The Green Jobs For Women?
• Clean Diesel Program Is Clear Success, Says US EPA
• Can Women Take on Men in Demolition and Construction?