ETA News Release: [February 23, 2007]
Contact Name: Peggy Abrahamson or David James
Phone Number: (202) 693-7909 or (202) 693-4676
U.S. Labor Department Official and Arkansas Leaders
Mark Economic and Talent Development Milestones
Pair of Initiatives to Solidify Delta Region as 21st Century Trade Hub
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco today joined Governor Mike Beebe and U.S. Rep. Marion Berry of Arkansas at Mid-South Community College in West Memphis to present two grants totaling more than $6 million to train Delta-area workers. Dr. Glen Fenter, president of Mid-South Community College, hosted the Friday afternoon event.
“The Arkansas Delta is working to maximize the talent of its workforce and foster the innovation necessary to succeed in the marketplace,” said Assistant Secretary DeRocco. “The awards being presented today are just two examples of the work being done in the Arkansas Delta to build competitive advantage and prepare workers for the 21st century global economy.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) recognized the Arkansas Delta in January as a 2nd Generation Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) region. The Arkansas Delta will be awarded up to $5 million to develop and implement innovative approaches it proposed for workforce and economic development. Among an array of initiatives, activities will include offering workers apprenticeship and additional talent development opportunities in the global positioning, logistics and other technologies that are being used to further the region’s potential as a transportation and world commerce hub.
ETA also will award $1.3 million to the state to train workers at the community college level for careers in the region’s growing transportation and logistics industry. This award was funded through the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic effort that builds educational and training capacity to better prepare workers for opportunities in high growth sectors of the American economy. Working with industry leaders, critical workforce gaps and issues are identified and solutions are created in cooperation with employers, educational institutions and the public workforce system. For more information, please visit www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/.
Through WIRED, the Department of Labor has invested more than $260 million in 26 regions throughout the country and has facilitated engagement among 10 federal agencies to catalyze the creation of high skill and high wage opportunities for American workers within the context of regional economies. For more information on WIRED, please visit www.doleta.gov/wired.
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