Individuals overcoming substance use disorder (SUD) often face a series of overwhelming obstacles when reentering their communities. Workplace stigmas around addiction, a lack of transportation to services and unsupportive living situations can all stand in the way of successful long-term recovery. To help individuals navigate these types of barriers,…
Since 1985, the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet), based in Athens County Ohio, has held steadfast to its mission of growing the regional economy in 32 Appalachian Ohio counties by supporting entrepreneurs and local sector growth. With ARC support ARCnet operates the Food Venture Center in Athens, and Business…
“About 80% of West Virginia businesses have 20 or less employees,” said Alyssa Keedy, the Advanced Career Education Coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). Why is that the case? One reason is a disconnect between West Virginia workers and the skills needed by local employers. With many…
Pictured from left to right are Hillary Wilcox, Visions FCU Branch Manager, and Jennifer Waite, the Delaware-Chenango-Madison- Otsego Board of Cooperative Educational Services Director of Career & Technical Education. Despite the reality that regional employers require skills such as specialized technical information, teamwork, and the use of technology, Appalachian New…
Since its conception in 2005, Sparks Center SC, located on the Spartanburg Community College Tyger River campus in Duncan, South Carolina, has specialized in business incubation, soft landings, workforce employment services, and special projects which assists in spurring economic development. Between 2009-2019, the Sparks Center has worked with over 100…
Tyrone Wilson, Founder & President of Cover 6 Solutions, leading instruction for the first-ever cohort of cybersecurity training participants onsite at the Pikeville Teleworks USA Hub in November 2019. For nearly 50 years, Hazard, Kentucky’s EKCEP (the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc.), has offered focused training, employment, and workforce…
Nationwide, there is a shortage of veterinarians in rural areas, including in Appalachia. With ARC funding, Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine purchased state-of-the-art equipment for the newly constructed Virginia campus to give students’ more opportunities to high paying jobs in the veterinarian field. Equipment includes life-size simulated farm…
The Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0, is a state-of-the-art workforce training center looking to produce trained workers for some of the world’s most technically advanced manufacturers. ARC has invested $10.7 million in the 135,000-square-foot facility that delivers training and education to support…
Chickasaw and surrounding counties in Mississippi do not have enough Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to respond to healthcare needs in regional nursing homes, hospices, and home-health agencies ARC invested in The Excel Nurse Assistant Program in Okolona. With ARC support offers CNA preparation annually to 20 residents in Chickasaw County…
The Appalachian Hatchery is a project of the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 2017 with support from ARC via the POWER Initiative, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, RCBI is a centralized support center for manufacturing,…
Alabama’s Jefferson State Community College (JSCC) enrolls nearly 14,000 students annually at its campuses in Jefferson, Chilton, St. Clair and Shelby counties. Over half of JSCC attendees are first-generation college students. The College offers more than 33 certificate and training programs in vast array of fields including manufacturing, health care,…
The New River Valley Regional Commission, a local development district in Appalachian Virginia, is using ARC support to renovate an unused school building in the rural Prices Fork area into a multi-use commercial and housing facility via a partnership with over 20 other public and private partners. The ARC funded…
With ARC support, North Carolina’s Isothermal Community College (ICC) has raised community awareness of career opportunities available in the manufacturing sector, enhanced manufacturing-related curriculum and pathways at the secondary and post-secondary levels, and is preparing students for gainful employment in the manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace industries.
With ARC support, technology teachers at Pioneer Central School District in Yorkshire, New York, created two new courses at Pioneer High School in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and Advanced Manufacturing to create a pathway for girls toward college/career readiness and employment specifically in high demand fields like manufacturing, welding, tool…
The Base Camp Coding Academy’s Class of 2019. Base Camp Coding Academy (BCCA), a non-profit learning center in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, offers intensive computer programming training to recent northern Mississippi high school graduates free of charge. Based in Water Valley, BCCA was first launched in 2016 as a pilot program in…
