ADWS Awards Arkansas Community Colleges More than $4 Million......

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services today announced that it has awarded Arkansas Community Colleges (formerly Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges) more than $4 million as part of its Arkansas Sector Partnership initiative.    The funds will be used to support the development, or expansion of, work-based training programs within the industries of advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology and the skilled construction trades.    “The goal of the Arkansas Sector Partnership initiative is to leverage partnerships and align state and local resources to deliver sector-based training programs that meet the workforce needs of key industries in Arkansas’ regional labor markets,” said ADWS Director Daryl Bassett.    The ACC is a non-profit association that represents all public community colleges in Arkansas. Twelve of ACC’s member colleges are participating in this effort and will provide work-based training programs and a variety of support services, including enhanced career services and pre-employment training to Arkansans across the state.    ACC’s Center for Workforce Director Kyla Waters said, “The 12 community colleges are working closely with the employers in their respective communities. We are pleased that already more than 40 employers have committed to hire participants of the training programs.”    This initiative, which is being funded through a grant recently awarded to ADWS by the U.S. Department of Labor, will target dislocated workers and long-term unemployed individuals, including eligible underserved and minority populations.