LOUISVILLE, KY (Feb. 23, 2011) -- A $300,000 federal grant will provide training opportunities and career support over the next two years for jobseekers and adults already working in health care and auto manufacturing in Kentucky and Southern Indiana along the Interstate 65 corridor. KentuckianaWorks, Greater Louisville’s Workforce Investment Board, will administer the grant for the Working Partners of Greater Louisville.

The work will support adults already in the workforce and bring together resources to increase skills in high-growth job sectors. Initially, the grant will focus on two job sectors: Health Care and New Auto. The New Auto job sector includes advanced manufacturing in auto and auto supply, as well as automobile repair, employers that are vital to this region.

“This grant gives Metro Louisville the opportunity to foster yet another regional partnership with employers and employees in communities along I-65,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “Working together, we can focus on raising postsecondary degree attainment and developing a strong and effective pipeline for low-wage workers to increase their skills and earn better opportunities. It is a challenge, but one that we, as a region, must meet so that our communities grow and prosper.”

“This federal investment in Louisville provides new resources to help equip area workers with the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs in our region’s emerging and growing sectors, including health care and advanced auto manufacturing,” said Congressman John Yarmuth. “This is the exact kind of federal investment our community needs to support job creation now and generate long-term economic growth.”

KentuckianaWorks Executive Director Michael Gritton said, “The National Fund grant will strengthen our efforts to ensure the current and future workforce needs in the WIRED65 region will be filled by local, qualified jobseekers or current workers. The end goal is to work with local employers and help them reduce training and recruitment costs while, at the same time, preparing workers for more stable, sustainable careers that enable them to provide for their families – now and in the future.”

The grant to the Working Partners is one of six given by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions to organizations in the South and Southwest. Working Partners will use the money over the next two years to support the expansion of work in the WIRED65 region, which includes 26 counties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana along I-65.

The $300,000 two-year grants also were awarded through a competitive process to the Metropolitan Atlanta (Ga.) Workforce Funders Collaborative; the Greenville (N.C.) Regional Funding Collaborative; the Delta Workforce Funding Collaborative in Jackson, Miss.; the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council in Mobile, Ala.; and the Greater New Orleans (La.) Workforce Funders Collaborative. The grants represent a combination of direct funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund and an equal amount of matching funds from private donors.

Jobs for the Future is the implementation partner of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. The grants are supported by funds awarded to the National Fund through the federal government’s landmark Social Innovation Fund.

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About Working Partners of Greater Louisville: The Working Partners of Greater Louisville includes representatives from funders, employer associations and workforce development organizations in the 26-county region north and south of Louisville along Interstate 65, including seven counties in southern Indiana. This region first came together in 2007 for the WIRED65 initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to test new approaches to economic and workforce development. The KentuckianaWorks Foundation, affiliated with KentuckianaWorks, Greater Louisville’s Workforce Investment Board that serves Jefferson and six surrounding counties in Kentucky, will convene the Working Partners collaborative and serve as fiscal agent for the grant. Three Workforce Investment Boards, along with KentuckianaWorks, will serve the Working Partner’s region – Lincoln Trail Area Development District, Ky.; Workforce Development Associates/Region 10, Ind.; and Lake Cumberland Area Development District, Ky. – to participate on the Leadership Council. Other members of the Leadership Council will include representatives from local funders, economic development agencies, and education and training providers. The Council will serve as the governing body that oversees the initiative and makes all decisions regarding the National Fund for Workforce Solutions’ expenditures and expenditures of local match.

About the National Fund for Workforce Solutions: The National Fund for Workforce Solutions is an award-winning national initiative focused on helping low-wage workers obtain good careers while at the same time ensuring that employers have the high-quality skills that will enable them to succeed in this highly competitive economy. Since 2008, the National Fund has raised nearly $24 million to support 24 communities that have contributed an additional $104 million in locally raised resources from 216 different funding sources, including community foundations, United Way agencies, corporate foundations, Workforce Investment Boards, chambers of commerce and state agencies. Each of these communities has created local funding collaboratives that are collectively investing in partnerships in more than 80 workforce sectors. The addition of these six new sites brings the total number of communities where the National Fund is working to 30. Ten national funders lead this effort: Annie E. Casey Foundation; the California Endowment; Ford Foundation; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Microsoft; The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; The Hitachi Foundation; the Prudential Foundation; and the Walmart Foundation.

About Jobs for the Future: Jobs for the Future develops, implements and promotes new education and workforce strategies that help communities, states and the nation compete in a global economy. In 200 communities in 41 states, Jobs for the Future improves the pathways leading from high school to college to family-sustaining careers.

About the Corporation for national and Community Service (CNCS) and the social Innovation Fund: The Corporation for National and Community Service is the federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and leads President Obama’s national call-to-service initiative, United We Serve. The Social Innovation Fund is an initiative of the Corporation that improves the lives of people in low-income U.S. communities. Through an innovative public-private partnership, the Social Innovation Fund and selected local and national grantmakers co-invest in programs that increase the scale of community-based solutions that have evidence of real impact in the areas of youth development, economic opportunity or healthy futures. Every federal dollar invested is matched with private funds, and all programs are rigorously evaluated. As a result, the most effective approaches can be expanded to reach more people in need, and key lessons can be captured and broadly shared. For more information visit NationalService.gov.