There is some good news for Pennsylvania workers in regions of high unemployment,
A Pennsylvania unemployment grant could offer an opportunity to bring new job skills to those regions. Those new skills could make workers competitive in the new global workplace.
The regions in the past that have benefited from the grants have included the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta, northern California, northern Indiana, the Delaware Valley, and northern Alabama.
The third generation of these extremely competitive WIRED grants is now available, according to an announcement by the U.S. Labor Department.
“Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao while announcing the earlier, second round, of the grants, “will boost entire regions’ economic vitality.”
WIRED stands for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development. As the name suggests, it is designed to come up with non-traditional ways of meeting the challenge of high regional unemployment while preparing the workforce for the skills required in the 21st century environment. Grant proposals that succeed show how new and different methods can be used to meet the challenges of bringing workers up to speed in a changing world.
The process begins when Secretary Chao sends letters to the governor of every state announcing the latest round of grants. Regions submit proposals to their respective governors. The governors, in turn, choose two proposals and submit those to the Labor Department. Grants have a ceiling of $5 million each. Every proposal must show a region’s other sources of funding. In that way, the Labor Department can plan its grant to supplement those already-existing private, state, and regional funds.
“This regional economic development strategy,” said Secretary Chao, “transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”
To date, 26 regions in the U.S. have received a total of $260 million in WIRED grant funding. As a result of the funds, 10 federal agencies have been cooperating to develop high-skill jobs.
