Kansas region receives nearly $10M for workforce training

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the award of $145 million in the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program to invest in training for key sectors of the U.S. economy.

One regional recipient is the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas Inc. located in Wichita, Kan., which has been awarded $9,999,856 to invest in workforce training.

Grant recipients will focus on upskilling the current workforce and training the workforce of the future for critical industries such as IT, advanced manufacturing and transportation.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is challenging communities to think as ‘One Workforce’,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “In a post-coronavirus world, it is critical that local organizations think as one instead of independent parts of a process. Our goal is to create seamless community partnerships to build career pathways for local job seekers to enter middle- to high-skilled occupations in cyber security, advanced manufacturing and transportation.”

Public-private partnerships will leverage resources across federal, state and local funding streams, as well as from the private sector to support training, employment services and supportive services to increase access to employment opportunities.

Grantees will work together toward a coordinated approach to preparing a skilled workforce within an economic region. Grantees must also demonstrate that they are leveraging at least 25 percent of the total amount of the grant funds requested.