Bluefield Economic Development Authority seeks federal dollars for workforce pipeline

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - The U.S. Economic Development Administration is making $1 billion dollars available to regional economic development boards.

Bluefield West Virginia joined the state coalition called ‘Resilient West Virginia.’ they look to receive $25-100 million dollars to fund multiple projects.

The Director of Bluefield’s Economic Development Authority told WVVA if the application gets the green light, it could open more doors for employers and potential employees in Southern West Virginia.

Omnis will add more than 100 new jobs to mercer county in the next year and Spencer said having employee development is vital to recruiting more companies into this area.

Skills training would also benefit people here who didn’t want to go to college but have a keen interest in learning what it takes to work in high-demand jobs that don’t require a degree. Spencer said it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

A successful application for federal funds fills the fiscal gap to make this workforce development training a reality. The Resilient West Virginia Coalition is the group behind the application for federal funding. They won’t know whether or not the workforce development project will be funded by federal dollars until early fall.

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