State awards $48 million in grants for workforce training
Gov. Sarah Sanders, Secretary Hugh McDonald, Chief Workforce Officer Mike Rogers, and Arkansas Workforce Connections Director Cody Waits on Thursday (Nov. 14) awarded $48 million in training grants to support workforce development efforts aligned with the Arkansas Workforce Strategy.
The grants were awarded as part of the Higher Industry Readiness through Educational Development (HIRED) program, established by the Workforce Initiative Act of 2015. In total, $88 million is available through the HIRED Grant program’s two tracks, which are separately administered through the Arkansas Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.
“The best thing about the HIRED program is that it’s a collaboration of the public and private sector working in tandem to build a workforce to support Arkansas’ fastest-growing industries,” said Gov. Sanders. “The $48 million we’re announcing through the HIRED grant program will help provide a solution to Arkansas’ business leaders who are seeking more qualified, skilled, hardworking employees to grow their companies.”
Nineteen organizations in Arkansas received $48 million in grants in the Track 2 portion of the HIRED grants program, administered by the Arkansas Department of Commerce and Arkansas Workforce Connections.
Officials said this round of funding aims to target competencies for which key industry sectors have asked.
“Workforce development is a key priority for Governor Sanders and the Department of Commerce, and the HIRED grants will have a major impact on preparing the next generation of Arkansans for the workforce,” said Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald. “These grants represent an industry-driven approach to workforce development and will impact Arkansans and companies in every corner of our state. Our public sector – including the Department of Commerce, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Department of Higher Education, the Office of Skills Development, and the Chief Workforce Officer – have partnered and collaborated with the private sector and our educational institutions throughout this process, and we look forward to the positive results that the programs supported through the HIRED Grant Program will have in Arkansas, which will be measurable by the employment outcomes of these partnerships.”
The HIRED grants are intended to provide funding for state and regional industry-driven partnerships and data-driven education and workforce training programs. Funding for the grants comes from Arkansas Workforce Initiative grant funding and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
The full list of grant recipients are listed below:
Little Rock, Apprenticely, $2,000,000
Fort Smith, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, $3,000,000
Little Rock, Arkansas Construction Education Foundation, $1,000,000
Jonesboro (primary), Newport, Arkansas State University-Newport, $250,000
Malvern, Arkansas State University Three Rivers, $2,819,250
Little Rock, The Venture Center, $500,000
Searcy, Harding University Digital Forensics Lab, $1,500,000
Little Rock, Little Rock Regional Chamber, $500,000
Hot Springs, National Park College #2, $6,000,000
Springdale, NWTI Education Foundation, $4,000,000
Arkadelphia, Ouachita Baptist University #1, $437,500
Helena-West Helena, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, $249,000
El Dorado, South Arkansas College, $325,000
Batesville, UAAC Batesville, $5,000,000
North Little Rock, UA Pulaski Technical College #2, $2,000,000
Walnut Ridge, Williams Baptist, $1,919,250
Jonesboro, Blytheville, Newport, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro (ANC, ASUN), $7,500,000
Camden, Southern Arkansas University Tech, $5,000,000
Western Arkansas, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, $4,000,000