Department of Labor awards grant to Midwest Urban Strategies partner, EmployIndy
$7.85 million will help recruit, retrain dislocated workers
Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS) Partner Map
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – October 9, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Labor awarded EmployIndy and other partner cities of Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS), nearly $8 million in Trade and Economic Transition Dislocated Worker grant funding to help mature dislocated workers reconnect with employment in growth occupations and industries.
“The loss of legacy jobs has hit Marion County hard in the past two years due to changing technology, automation, trade, outsourcing, and rising business expenses. Displaced workers are faced with a traumatic challenge – both personally and professionally – which they must navigate to find their next step,” said Angela Carr Klitzsch, EmployIndy President and CEO.
“Addressing the needs of our ageing workforce is a challenge for all of our members,” said Midwest Urban Strategies Director Tracey Carey. “We’re especially excited for our partners involved in the grant and the opportunity to learn from the best practices and experiences that will come.”
The $7.85 million grant award will be used to coordinate and implement a regional strategy to recruit mature workers that have experienced a dislocation in sectors negatively impacted by technology and automation. Specifically, partners will use pre- apprentice and registered apprenticeship, customized, just-in-time training to develop best practice strategies.
The program will focus on efforts to engage and retrain mature workers with new skill sets and gain reemployment in sectors including Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, Information Technology, Financial Services and Advanced Manufacturing.
As a partner organization, EmployIndy will receive nearly $1.1 million in programmatic funds to deploy in the Indianapolis region. Over two years, EmployIndy will be allocating these funds to serve more than 150 dislocated workers throughout Marion County. This will be made possible through formulaic career assessment systems, growing local apprenticeship programs, and utilizing career pathways toolkits created in partnership with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
###
About EmployIndy
EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 21 business, civic, education, and non-profit community leaders, EmployIndy invests $20 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually.
About Midwest Urban Strategies
Midwest Urban Strategies represents a coordinated effort on behalf of 13 Department of Labor urban workforce development boards to marry traditional workforce development practices with economic development. Through intentional collaboration, leveraging stakeholders and efficient and creative use of resources, our strategy is to retain and grow local talent and generate a greater return on investment for our employer partners and the workforce system. For more information visit us online at midwesturbanstrategies.com or follow us on Twitter @midwestworkers.
