The United States Department of Labor has awarded a $2 million grant to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth to develop new methods to train dislocated workers in mid-Michigan.
This demonstration grant, referred to as the Mid-Michigan Partnership for Training in Healthcare, or M-PaTH, will initially be used to build the skills of dislocated workers in the Flint area.
The Michigan DLEG has designated the Prima Civitas Foundation of Lansing as the project manager for the grant, largely based on its success in managing the Mid-Michigan Innovation Team Workforce Innovation In Regional Economic Development initiative, which covers 13 counties in the Mid-Michigan region, including the Flint area. The Corporation for a Skilled Workforce will also provide strategic leadership for the grant.
The Prima Civitas Foundation will work with the Greater Flint Health Coalition, one of its MMIT partners, which will expand and replicate its successful Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities Project model to train dislocated workers for careers in nursing and other health care positions.
The Prima Civitas Foundation will incorporate M-PaTH into its overall strategy for regional collaboration and work closely with M-PaTH partners to ensure regional coordination occurs to effectively replicate this training demonstration throughout the Mid-Michigan region.
“We are confident that we will produce a viable, reproducible training system that can be integrated throughout the Mid-Michigan region to retrain our dislocated workers for jobs of today and the future,” Hollister added.
The three year grant is expected to enter the implementation phase this fall.
Established in 2006, the Prima Civitas Foundation is a regional community and economic development collaborative committed to putting Mid-Michigan first. PCF activities include administrative management of the Mid-Michigan Innovation Team WIRED initiative in addition to activities aimed at diversifying Mid-Michigan's economy and promoting job growth.
PCF supports the expansion of industries such as next generation transportation, alternative energy, biomass, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and homeland security. In particular, PCF aims to position Mid-Michigan as a world leader in the post-petroleum economy. PCF is a not-for-profit organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. |
