DWD awards $1.5 million in grants to help address regional workforce issues

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) awarded the Western Indiana Workforce Investment Board Inc. a $59,396 performance grant to help address critical workforce issues in the region.

It plans to use the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant to develop Career Connections training and pre-apprenticeship programs.

The Western Indiana Workforce Investment Board Inc. oversees workforce initiatives in Putnam, Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.

“The Western Indiana Workforce Development Board is excited to bring the Career Connections training program to the area through the support of the Regional Performance Metrics and Support Grant,” board president Rick Burger said. “We are eager for youth and adults to gain the skills necessary to address the worker shortage that currently exists in the construction sector.”

DWD provided grant opportunities to all 12 Workforce Development Boards throughout the state. Each proposal had to focus on improving the workforce operations of that region in alignment with the objectives of Gov. Eric Holcomb and the DWD.

“We wanted to invest this money in local communities to address each of their unique challenges,” DWD Commissioner Fred Payne said. “It’s an important tool in helping more Hoosiers enter the workforce.”

In total, $1.5 million in grant money was distributed across the state by DWD to the region’s workforce development boards through this grant opportunity.

The board serves the six counties in Region 7, providing oversight of the region’s public employment and training system. It also serve as a pass-through entity for the region’s allocation of employment and training funds.

DWD is committed to innovating and invigorating Indiana’s economic future by providing WorkOne Career Centers, Unemployment Insurance, Labor Market Information, Regional Workforce Strategies and Professional Training.