North Carolina has received a $4 million federal workforce grant to help workers who lost their jobs due to the tragic December 2021 fire at the QVC distribution facility in Rocky Mount, Governor Roy Cooper has announced.
“This new grant will help hundreds of former QVC workers get back on their feet,” Governor Cooper said. “While we’ve already helped many impacted employees get new jobs, many others still need the training and services this new grant provides to help them with new careers.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS) requested the funds, which were awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor as an Employment Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant.
“The Commerce team and our NCWorks partners, in close coordination with QVC, have responded to this tragedy with workforce services, including successful hiring events in both virtual and in-person formats,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “We look forward to using these new resources to empower dislocated workers with new skills and credentials, and to connect them with the many North Carolina employers who are hiring.”
Through the grant, eligible dislocated workers may receive:
- Career Services, to help them make informed decisions about reemployment and education, based on local and regional economic conditions;
- Training Services, including both On-the-Job Training (OJT) opportunities with area employers and classroom training at community colleges or other providers, to prepare for in-demand jobs; and
- Supportive Services, which can address barriers that may prevent individuals from participating in employment and training.
The grant is intended to serve approximately 650 people living in a ten-county area.
To administer this grant, DWS will partner with Turning Point Workforce Development Board (which serves Edgecombe, Nash, Halifax, Northampton and Wilson counties) and Rivers East Workforce Development Board (which serves Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin and Pitt counties).
Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses. DWS and local workforce development boards have administered federal grants of this type in the past, including grants that came in the wake of Hurricanes Matthew and Florence and another to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former QVC employees who are interested in receiving workforce services should contact their local NCWorks Career Center, which can be found at www.NCWorks.gov.
This project is funded by a Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) from the Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, totaling $4,000,000. The total cost of the project funded by the grant is $4,000,000, with 0% financed from non-governmental sources.