Wisconsin State Rep. Ron Kind | Facebook
Wisconsin State Rep. Ron Kind | Facebook
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-LaCrosse) is sold on the benefits he sees coming from the Workforce Innovation Grants funded by the ARPA.
“The American Rescue Plan is continuing to help #WI03 build back stronger than ever,” Kind recently posted on Twitter. “Great to see these ARP funded grants go to @CVTC, @UWEauClaire and @FollowMSTC to help boost our workforce.”
Billed as collaboration between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Department of Workforce Development, the Workforce Innovation Grant Program provides up to $10 million grants to regional organizations to design and implement innovative plans that help solve the workforce challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in their regions.
With a goal of aiding the regions of Wisconsin solve their most pressing workforce challenges by financially supporting collaborative, sustainable and innovative pandemic-recovery plans developed by regional organizations, the program seeks to inspire the development of leading-edge, long-term solutions that enable businesses to more easily find workers and empower that workforce to more easily prepare for and connect to the family-supporting careers in their regions.
“There's no one-size-fits-all solution to the workforce challenges we face, but these funds will make a difference for families, workers, employers and communities across our state in the short- and long-term," Gov. Tony Evers posted on Twitter.
As of September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rates in Wisconsin were lower than they were in 27 other states and stable in 22 states. At 4.8%, the national unemployment rate also fell by 0.4 percentage point over the month and was 3.0 points lower than in September 2020.
In Wisconsin, both non-profit and governmental entities are eligible to apply for the grants, which will be awarded in two rounds. Awards for the first round will be announced this month after the application process closed in October.
Program dates and application details for Round 2 will be announced in 2022.
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