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Connecticut Employment Grant

January 26th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

“It’s not every day that you get a call you’ve been awarded $5 million dollars!” says Joseph M. Carbone, President and CEO of The WorkPlace, Inc. But that’s exactly what happened to him on January 14. Carbone wasn’t an overnight success, though. The WorkPlace has been working toward that call for more than a year. Their persistence finally payed off when the call came from Congressman Christopher Shays’ office. The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $5 million to a project in Southwestern Connecticut to develop the regional economy and strengthen its workforce.

“This project addresses the key issues of competitiveness and job creation that are common to all regions of our state,” said Governor M. Jodi Rell. “We should all be proud that Connecticut is represented among the WIRED regions since the goal of this project is to develop strategies that will enable us to compete better in the global economy. Although this project is concentrated in the southwestern part of our state, the end results will be a gain for every resident of Connecticut.”

The Southwestern Connecticut grant is part of the WIRED project (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) was among 13 regional initiatives throughout the U.S. that will receive investments for worker training. The goal is to transform the way workforce training and economic development are done across the nation.

In Southwestern Connecticut, even more than in other parts of the state, the shortage of skilled workers is a key problem. The problem will only be exacerbated as growth industries create more jobs for highly skilled workers. Connecticut’s fastest-growing industries include healthcare, financial services and advanced manufacturing.

Under this Connecticut employment grant, workers will be trained for higher paying positions in the state’s growth industries. The program will focus “tapping the talent within,” including training and services to immigrants, low-wage workers, and young people.

The Southwestern Connecticut WIRED project will receive $500,000 now to develop a comprehensive “implementation blueprint” for review by the USDOL, and will receive an additional $4.5 million over three years.