Choctaw and Webster counties along with Kemper and Winston were awarded a $730,559 Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant Thursday.
Collaboration within the four counties and local industry, three community college districts and local K-12 school districts and countless others throughout the state allowed for a successful grant application and award, according to The Enterprise of Mississippi.
An additional match was required for the grant, bringing the total project to $926,159. This is the first time Mississippi counties have been awarded ARC POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) funds. The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District submitted the grant application.
The grant will allow for equipment to be purchased and placed at the local career and technology centers to support training of students and the local workforce for manufacturing employers.
Workforce development classes such as welding, hydraulics and pneumatics, computer numerical control and others will be available locally in Webster and Choctaw counties. A basic 25-hour manufacturing class will be held for individuals entering the workforce.
Each community committed to giving the National Career Readiness Certificate to all graduating high school students for the next three years.
The project’s first goal is to implement a middle-skill manufacturing training program based on the Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model to build up a skilled workforce in the four counties. The second goal is to strengthen existing Pathway Model programs in the region, especially work experience opportunities.
The purpose of the 35 POWER awards announced last week by ARC is to expand and diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities by supporting workforce training and education in manufacturing, technology, healthcare and other industry sectors.
“(Thursday’s) announcement is continued support for the work already underway to create new opportunities for those living in communities hardest hit by changes in the coal industry,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas. “These grants are a commitment to long-term diversification and economic growth in Appalachia.”
POWER is a congressionally funded initiative that targets federal resources to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations and coal-related supply chain industries resulting from the changing economics of America’s energy production.
Earlier this year, ARC published “An Economic Analysis of the Appalachian Coal Industry Ecosystem,” a research series examining how Appalachia’s coal industry ecosystem is being impacted because of changes in the coal industry. The reports explore some of the current and future economic effects of declining coal production on various components of Appalachia’s CIE, including supply chain industries, electric power generation and transportation.
The research finds that the impacts of the region’s changing coal economy go far beyond the communities where coal is produced and touch communities throughout Appalachia. The study also describes occupations that may be affected by losses in the coal industry ecosystem, offers state-by-state analyses comparing these impacted occupations to similar occupations in other industries and identifies where former coal industry workers might find alternative employment opportunities.
