As part of the Obama administration’s larger effort to help communities affected by the near-collapse of the U.S. auto industry, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is doing his part.

He announced today in Milwaukee a new competitive grant program to help develop more community college programs to help people, especially those hurt by the auto industry’s decline. Don’t expect this new program to have a big impact though—the total funding is only $7 million. Grants are likely to range from $300,000 to $700,000. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the some $100 billion in education money in the stimulus package.

The education department’s press release points out that many of the high-demand jobs in 2009 are within reach of a community college graduate. Just what are these in-demand jobs? According to Manpower, the 10 hardest jobs for U.S. employers to fill in 2009 are: engineers, nurses, skilled/manual trades, teachers, sales representatives, technicians, drivers, information technology, laborers, and machinists.