The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $10.4 million to an Alamo Colleges District-led consortium to expand short-term technical training at Texas community colleges. Gov. Greg Abbott announced the grant Friday; his office says the four-year effort aims to serve 22,000 students.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Education approved five Texas community colleges to offer Workforce Pell aid for nine short-term programs. The approved courses cover fields including health care, welding, machining and electric power.

Kilgore College received approval for electric power technology, phlebotomy and pharmacy technician programs. Weatherford College was approved for basic HVAC, basic machining and advanced CNC machining. The other approvals cover structural welding at Texas Southmost College, phlebotomy at San Jacinto College and pharmacy technician training at Central Texas College.