Mississippi will receive $730,559 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to help ensure Mississippi increases its access to skilled workers for the state’s growing manufacturing sector.
The Starkville-based Golden Triangle Planning and Development District will receive the grant and will work with three community colleges and private-sector businesses. The money will help them implement a manufacturing training program based on the Mississippi Works Smart Start Career Pathway Model to increase the skilled workforce in Choctaw, Kemper, Webster, and Winston counties.
“The Mississippi economy is growing and having a skilled workforce is necessary to keep that growth going,” said U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. “I hope this ARC grant will help create opportunities for workers to get the skills they need to find full-time, well-paid jobs.”
The POWER grant initiative was created 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. It is administered by ARC, a congressionally-authorized entity.
In Mississippi, ARC jurisdiction covers these 24 counties: Alcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Itawamba, Kemper, Lee, Lowndes, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Webster, Winston, and Yalobusha.
