CLARKSDALE, Miss. – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced today an investment of more than $81 million to 13 grant recipients through the seventh round of the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative, a partnership with the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), Appalachian Regional Commission and Northern Border Regional Commission. This funding will support projects designed to address the critical workforce needs of employers in high-growth and emerging industries throughout the lower Mississippi Delta, Appalachian and Northern Border regions.
Within the lower Mississippi Delta and Alabama Black Belt, six organizations across five of the DRA’s eight-state service region will receive approximately $33.6 million in funding. This award represents a substantial share of the total WORC 7 investment and will support workforce development efforts tailored to the needs of regional employers and communities.
Grant recipients in the DRA region include:
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Mississippi
Delta Health Alliance, Inc. – $7,994,044
Part of the Solution Foundation – $4,500,000
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Tennessee
CodeCrew – $4,000,000
“The Delta Regional Authority is proud to see six organizations from our region selected for WORC 7 funding, representing a significant federal investment in the communities we serve,” said DRA Executive Director Laura Veazey. “Through our continued partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, we are working to address critical workforce shortages, support growing industries, and expand access to quality, family-sustaining careers across the Delta region. By connecting residents with the skills, training and credentials employers need, these investments will create new pathways to economic opportunity while helping businesses build the workforce necessary to compete and grow.”
Administered by the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative demonstration grants support projects addressing the workforce needs of regional employers to enable them to better compete economically and enable residents of the regions to obtain or retain family-sustaining employment opportunities so they can remain and thrive in their communities.
To view the U.S. Department of Labor’s announcement and list of grant recipients, click www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20261016. To learn more about the department and its funding opportunities, visit www.dol.gov.
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