Approximately $10 million in funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is available to address employment and training needs across the Delta region
Clarksdale, MS – Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has announced funding availability for the Delta Workforce Grant Program (DWP) that will support workforce training and education programs throughout the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions. Approximately $10 million is available to address employment and training needs of the local and regional workforce, created in collaboration with community partners and aligned with existing economic and workforce development plans and strategies. Funding for this program was made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden, a key part of his Investing in America agenda.
“The Delta Workforce Grant Program makes targeted investments in initiatives and programs that support workforce employment and training needs in DRA’s region and helps create pathways to high-quality careers that allow residents to thrive and remain in their communities, said DRA Federal Co-Chairman, Dr. Corey Wiggins. “These investments create opportunities for residents to enter and remain in the workforce, helping to nurture local workforce ecosystems and support regional economic development in some of the most persistently impoverished areas of the country.”
DWP is an initiative designed to build long-term community capacity and increase economic competitiveness by targeting federal resources toward communities in the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions particularly hit hard by industrial downsizing, business closures, and job losses. The program supports projects and initiatives that create a more vibrant economic future for the Delta region by expanding opportunities to recruit, train, and retain a diverse and local workforce, aligning workforce and economic development strategies, creating sustainable talent pipelines, establishing or enhancing locally and regionally significant public-private partnerships, and supporting workforce productivity through investments in innovative programming and services.
For more information about DRA’s DWP funding availability, please visit Delta Workforce Grant Program – Delta Regional Authority (dra.gov). For questions about DWP, please email workforce@dra.gov.
