Federal aid to support 50 training scholarships

Springdale-based nonprofit Business and Industry Training will receive $332,350 from the city of Springdale to provide 50 scholarships over three years.

On Dec. 12, the Springdale City Council approved giving federal aid money to BIT “for the purpose of increasing Springdale participation in its workforce development and job placement program,” according to the resolution.

A memo by Robert Hogan of Disaster Recovery Services shows the scholarship program is likely eligible for the federal aid money. The money for the scholarship program comes from federal aid provided to the city as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act that was approved in March 2021. The act established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, and from the $350 billion aid package, the city received $21.35 million to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The memo shows the money must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

According to Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the U.S. manufacturing industry lost about 1.4 million jobs at the onset of the pandemic. It’s yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, partly because of a skilled labor shortage. To address the shortage, BIT plans to offer 50 scholarships over three years to five employee groups:

• High school students interested in manufacturing
• Manufacturing workers affected by the pandemic
• People who are transitioning from being incarcerated
• Unemployed people wanting to learn new skills
• Those with mobility restrictions and special needs.

Ten scholarships will be provided to each of the previous groups. The scholarships are expected to range from $2,000 to $11,650 per person.

Recently, BIT reached an agreement with the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas to allow single parents to apply for scholarships for BIT training courses. BIT, which also has a Gentry location, has been providing short-term skills training courses since 1996.