DEPARTMENT OF LABOR · JOB CORPS ACQUISITION SERVICES
Job Corps Contingency Operations IDIQ
Prepare for short-term center operations that keep education, training and student support moving.
Pre-RFP / Presolicitation | Full & Open + Small Business Pools | NAICS 611519
Anticipated: 8 open + 4 small business
Planned base and options
U.S. and territories
Watch the GDI Consulting Job Corps BidCAST
Explore the Job Corps Contingency Operations IDIQ and capture considerations. See the source-backed updates directly below the video.
Updates & Clarifications
- Value: the video’s approximately $5.56 billion projection is not an announced new ceiling. The supplied report bases that estimate on combined incumbent contract ceilings, not the historical spending chart. A ceiling is not guaranteed spending.
- Timing: October 2026 is the government’s anticipated RFP release month, not a proposal deadline or a current “long runway.” October 14 was the presolicitation notice response date. No RFP proposal deadline was independently verified as of October 17, 2026. February 2027 is a third-party award estimate.
- Transition and teaming: the video’s instant takeover, no missed instruction day and nationwide teaming statements are capture commentary, not verified eligibility or evaluation rules in the reviewed presolicitation. Center-specific requirements will be defined by task order.
- Confirmed planning facts: the notice anticipates 12 awards, split 8 full-and-open and 4 small business, and requires measures to attain or maintain average monthly on-board strength at 100% of planned OBS. The two-year base and three one-year options are anticipated terms.
The government solicitation and amendments control. Read the official Job Corps presolicitation.
Solicitation Summary
The Department of Labor is preparing a multiple-award IDIQ for contingency operation of Job Corps Centers. The contemplated contracts would support short-term operators when needed, with fixed-price task orders covering training, center operations, outreach and admissions, enrollment support and career transition services across the United States and its territories.
Planning status: the September 29, 2026 presolicitation anticipates an RFP on or about October 2026. The reviewed notice is not the final solicitation and does not establish a proposal deadline. Use this profile for capture planning and confirm the current RFP, submission instructions and amendments on SAM.gov before acting.
Solicitation in a Nutshell
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Agency / Contracting Office | U.S. Department of Labor · OASAM / Office of the Senior Procurement Executive / Job Corps Acquisition Services (JCAS), West Procurement. The requirement supports the Job Corps program. |
| Notice / Solicitation Number | 1605JW-26-R-00006 (official SAM notice number; shown without hyphens in the supplied opportunity report). |
| Status | Pre-RFP / presolicitation. The September 29, 2026 notice anticipates a forthcoming RFP; it is not itself a proposal solicitation. |
| Anticipated Solicitation | On or about October 2026, according to the government presolicitation. This is an anticipated release window, not a confirmed RFP posting date. |
| Proposal Deadline | No proposal deadline is established in the reviewed presolicitation. SAM lists October 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern as the notice response date; that date has passed and should not be presented as an RFP proposal deadline. |
| Anticipated Award | February 2027 is a third-party estimate in the supplied October 9 report, not a verified agency award commitment. |
| Value / Ceiling | A new contract ceiling is not stated in the reviewed presolicitation. The supplied report cites $5,564,665,193 in combined incumbent contract ceilings and uses approximately $5.565 billion as a follow-on estimate. Neither is guaranteed spending or an announced new award value. |
| Vehicle / Pricing | Multiple-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts with fixed-price task orders and not-to-exceed contract line items for short-term contingency center operations. |
| Anticipated Awards | 12 total: 8 full-and-open awards and 4 awards reserved exclusively for small businesses, as described in the September 29 notice. |
| Competition | Mixed unrestricted and small-business pools. Do not interpret SAM’s blank set-aside metadata as eliminating the 4 planned small-business awards stated in the notice narrative. Final RFP terms will control. |
| Anticipated Duration | Two-year base period plus three one-year options, for up to five years if all options are exercised. |
| Primary Requirement | Education and training, center operations, outreach and admissions, enrollment management, and career transition services. |
| NAICS / PSC | NAICS 611519: Other Technical and Trade Schools. PSC U006: Education/Training – Vocational/Technical. Verify the applicable small-business size standard in the final solicitation. |
| Place of Performance | Job Corps Centers throughout the United States and its territories; center-specific work will be defined by task order. |
| Official Source | View the Job Corps presolicitation on SAM.gov |
Background
Job Corps provides residential and nonresidential education, training and employment support for disadvantaged young people ages 16–24. The contingency vehicle is intended to provide operational continuity when a center needs a short-term replacement operator.
The supplied report describes the prior contract vehicle as historical context. Its combined incumbent ceiling figures are not awards or guaranteed funding for the forthcoming procurement.
The government’s current planning notice anticipates 12 awards across unrestricted and small-business pools. Prior-contract on-ramp language in the supplied report should not be treated as a confirmed on-ramp policy for the new vehicle.
Requirements
The presolicitation describes the following service areas. Center-specific scope, evaluation criteria, pricing instructions and proposal requirements must be confirmed in the released RFP and individual task orders.
01 Contingency Center Operations
Be prepared to assume short-term operation of an assigned Job Corps Center under a fixed-price task order. Each task order will define the specific center requirements.
02 Academic & Career Training
Provide academic instruction, career technical training, career success skills, career development and related student support services.
03 Outreach, Admissions & Enrollment
Provide outreach and admissions for residential and nonresidential students. The notice calls for efforts to achieve and maintain average monthly on-board strength (OBS) at 100% of the center’s planned OBS.
04 Career Transition & Continuity
Deliver career transition services to eligible graduates regardless of where they live or matriculate, including eligible graduates who separated under the previous operator.
05 Capture Readiness
As a planning consideration, organize relevant operating experience, staffing and transition approaches, student-support capabilities, performance evidence and teaming roles before the RFP appears. These are preparation topics, not verified evaluation factors or final submission requirements.
How Can GDIC Help?
GDI Consulting can help contractors assess pursuit readiness, map relevant experience, organize teaming and transition approaches, and build a capture plan for Job Corps contingency operations.
Once the RFP is available, our team can support requirements analysis, compliance matrices, proposal planning and writing, and independent reviews aligned with the actual solicitation.
Source basis: official SAM presolicitation 1605JW-26-R-00006 (September 29, 2026); supplied opportunity report printed October 9, 2026; and the linked GDI Consulting BidCAST. Checked October 17, 2026. Agency notices and amendments take precedence over secondary summaries. Estimated dates and values are not government commitments.