Labor Department Awards $81.5M for Rural Job Training Across Three Regions
Grants fund workforce programs in Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border communities, targeting high-growth sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and skilled trades.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced $81.5 million in grants Tuesday to bolster workforce development in economically underserved rural areas, directing funding toward 13 projects spanning 11 states across the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border regions.
The awards represent the seventh round of the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities initiative, administered through the department's Employment and Training Administration in partnership with three federal regional commissions. The grants are designed to align training pipelines with employer demand in sectors including healthcare, skilled trades, construction, information technology, manufacturing, domestic energy, and business services.
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Recipients range from historically Black universities to labor unions and community health organizations. United Steelworkers Local 689 in Ohio received the maximum single award of $8 million, while Tuskegee University in Alabama received $7.5 million. Vermont-based JobForward Inc. and Mississippi's Delta Health Alliance each received just under $8 million. In total, 13 organizations will use the funding to develop or expand training models that include Registered Apprenticeships for new workers, dislocated workers, and those seeking to upgrade existing skills.
Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling framed the initiative as consistent with the Trump administration's economic agenda, saying the grants create pathways to jobs that sustain families and strengthen domestic supply chains. The WORC program's broader goal, according to the department, is to enable rural residents to access well-paying employment without relocating out of their communities.
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