LWC Wins $6.1 Million Federal Grant to Train Louisiana Workers

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Workforce Commission has won a $6.175 million federal grant to train workers in high-demand occupations and help employers in 36 parishes across South Louisiana offset the cost of worker training.

The grant will focus on the industries that are driving employment demand in South Louisiana: industrial construction, hospitality, healthcare, information technology and shipbuilding and repair.

Louisiana’s award is the maximum allowed under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job-Driven Training for Workers program. The USDOL awarded a total of $154.8 million.

“This grant means we’ll have more workers who are qualified and possess the credentials required to enter Louisiana’s highest demand occupations,” said Bryan Moore, director of the LWC’s Office of Workforce Development.

LWC estimates 1,200 people living in South Louisiana will qualify for a combination of services under the grant that may include on the job training, apprenticeship and classroom training. Most who qualify will be:

• Long-term unemployed job seekers

• Recently separated military veterans

• Recipients of unemployment benefits deemed likely to exhaust their benefits before returning to work

Employers also can qualify for grant funds to offset training costs, such as 50 percent of wages for workers receiving on-the-job training in a high-demand occupation or training for their workers through the LWC’s apprenticeship program.

“It’s an opportunity for people to earn while they learn,” Moore said. “We’re here to make the connection between people who are eager to find gainful employment and employers who are desperately trying to fill job vacancies with skilled workers.”

The LWC will administer grant funds in collaboration with its South Louisiana Workforce Investment Boards, as well as the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Associated Builders and Contractors, the AFL-CIO, plant operators, industrial construction employers and employers who already participate in training programs through the LWC.

Workers and employers in the following parishes are eligible for assistance under the grant:

Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Point Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermillion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

Individuals interested in seeking training or grant assistance can contact our staff at any LWC Business and Career Solutions Center. You’ll find a list of all the Centers at laworks.net.

Employers interested in training programs covered by the grant should contact LWC Business Services Manager Greg DeClouet at 225-342-6174 or by email at gdeclouet@lwc.la.gov.

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