The North Carolina Department of Commerce is now accepting applications from local workforce development boards for special grants designed to help jobseekers and businesses in today’s tight labor market. The department’s Workforce Solutions division is making the grants available, from federal funds allocated to North Carolina through the American Rescue Plan Act.
“These new grants represent the approach of our state’s First in Talent strategic economic development plan, which calls for investing in the people of North Carolina,” N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said. “We look forward to working with our partners to increase participation in the workforce and to help small businesses meet their talent needs.”
Three types of grants are available:
- NCWorks Substance Use Disorder Recovery Grants, which can assist local communities impacted by the opioid epidemic and other substance use disorders by providing people in recovery with education in soft skills required in the workplace and training in high-demand employment sectors, along with support for job retention and wraparound services (such as transportation, childcare and food stabilization) that help remove barriers to employment;
- NCWorks Reentry Support Grants, which can provide comprehensive services to justice-involved individuals focusing on their specific reentry challenges and job search needs, including temporary transportation assistance, help with obtaining necessary records and driver’s licenses, other supportive services, and connections to community resources;
- NCWorks Small Business Work-Based Learning Grants, which can help employers with 25 or fewer employees by providing work-based learning opportunities, including On-the-Job Training (OJT), Incumbent Worker Training and Work Experience internships, with a special emphasis on historically underutilized businesses, industries significantly impacted by the pandemic, businesses located in Tier 1 or Tier 2 counties, or industries with substantial occupational skills gaps.
The deadline to apply is Sept. 23, 2022. For guidelines and instructions on how to apply, read this grant document from the Division of Workforce Solutions.
For local workforce boards, the grant award may total up to $200,000 for Substance Use Disorder Recovery funding, up to $500,000 for Reentry Support funding, and up to $1 million for Small Business Work-Based Learning funding.
The source of funding for these grants is a component of the American Rescue Plan Act, the State Fiscal Recovery Fund (SFRF), which provides $5.4 billion to North Carolina to help turn the tide on the pandemic, address its economic fallout, and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery. The N.C. General Assembly appropriated the SFRF in the 2021 Appropriations Act (Session Law 2021-180).
For more details on these grants, workforce board officials may visit the operational guidance notice page on the N.C. Commerce website.