By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Workforce Development Board has received a $893,164 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to support local job seekers impacted by the pandemic.
Richmond joins nine organizations nationwide in receiving the first $22 million of a total of $90 million in funding from the Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Employment Recovery (CAREER) National Dislocated Worker Grants, which is supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, according to the Department of Labor.
The CAREER grant program aims to deliver training and employment services for job seekers in historically marginalized communities as the economy rebounds from the pandemic’s impact. Virtual employment services, employment retraining, English-language learning, peer coaches, career advising, child care and transportation costs are among the resources funded by the grants.
CAREER aims to support organizations “serving individuals affected disproportionately by pandemic-driven layoffs, including people of color, Native Americans, individuals with disabilities, veterans and lower-income workers,” said the U.S. Department of Labor in a statement.
Joining the Richmond Workforce Development Board in receiving CAREER National Dislocated Worker Grants ranging from $890,000 to $3 million were: The Cook Inlet Tribal Council Inc. in Anchorage, AK; Able-Disabled Advocacy Inc. in San Diego, CA; NOVA Workforce Development Board: City of Sunnyvale in Sunnyvale, CA; Metro Community Ministries Inc. in College Park, GA; Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in Springfield, IL; Capital Area Workforce Development Board in Raleigh, NC; Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, OK; and the Upper Savannah Council of Governments in Greenwood, SC.
