Training and Opportunities

Tennessee

Hamblen

Helping Women Enter the Recovery-to-Work Ecosystem in Appalachian Tennessee

Across Appalachia, developing a ready workforce must include helping workers re-enter and retain employment. Since 2017, the staff at the Helen Ross McNabb Center in Morristown, Tennessee, has been doing just that. The McNabb Center’s Jail to Work program gives women serving in county jails on drug offenses the…
Investment in Action
West Virginia

Braxton

On the Road to Recovery with Reintegrate Appalachia

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,…
Investment in Action
Ohio

Athens

ACEnet: Building Ohio’s Hardwood Sector

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…
Investment in Action
EdVenture Group's SWEEP Program in WV
West Virginia

Calhoun

SWEEP: Training West Virginia’s Entrepreneurs

“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…
Investment in Action
New York

Chenango

Students Prepare for Post-Secondary Futures in Appalachian New York

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…
Investment in Action
South Carolina

Spartanburg

Spark Center SC: Launching local businesses

Since its conception in 2005, Spark 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 Spark Center has worked with over 100…
Investment in Action
Kentucky

Perry

Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP): TechHire in Eastern Kentucky

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…
Investment in Action
Tennessee

Claiborne

Lincoln Memorial University’s College of Veterinary Medicine

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…
Investment in Action
Mississippi

Oktibbeha

The Communiversity: Transforming Manufacturing in Mississippi

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…
Investment in Action
Mississippi

Chickasaw

Excel Nurses Assistant Program: Increasing Health Care Capacity in Mississippi

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…
Investment in Action
West Virginia

Kanawha

Appalachian Hatchery: Supporting WV’s Manufacturers

The Appalachian Hatchery is an innovative advanced manufacturing incubator at Marshall University’s Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) in Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 2017 with a $1.5 million ARC POWER grant, along support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the Hatchery supports manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and business development in West Virginia’s southern most 20 counties –…
Investment in Action
Female students performs health check on first aid mannequin
Alabama

Jefferson

Jefferson State Community College: Meeting Industry Demand

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,…
Investment in Action
Brick building repurposed from school into working kitchen
Virginia

Montgomery

New River Valley Regional Commission: New Vision in Prices Fork, Virginia

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…
Investment in Action
North Carolina

Rutherford

Pathway & Project-Based Learning in Automotive & Aerospace Manufacturing

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.
Investment in Action
New York

Cattaraugus

Dream It Do It WNY: A Pathway to Manufacturing Careers

In Jamestown, New York, the Dream It, Do It program is changing the way girls see manufacturing – and themselves. Though the third-largest industry sector in Western New York, the manufacturing workforce is only comprised 27% by women. As local employers face a serious worker shortage…
Investment in Action