Competitive Workforce Alliance Wins
Groundbreaking Grant for the Region

$250,000 Awarded to Allied Health
Regional Skills Partnership

The Competitive Workforce Alliance Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $250,000 grant award. The Partnership is one of only four groups in the state to receive this highly competitive implementation grant.

Awarded by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the $250,000 grant will fund a two-year initiative to address workforce shortages and skills development in the Allied Health industry. The Centralina Workforce Development Board, which serves as the workforce intermediary for the Partnership, will be the administrator for the grant funds.

In announcing the grant, the Department of Commerce commended the Competitive Workforce Alliance Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership for its understanding of workforce needs in its 16-county region, and applauded the projects identified to help address those needs.

Partnership initiatives include increasing public education and awareness of Allied Health occupations by expanding its website and conducting career expos. Other projects for the Partnership include developing additional training programs for Physical and Occupational Therapy Assistants and developing a career pathways model that will enable entry-level healthcare employees to move to higher skilled, higher paying jobs.

The Alliance formed the Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership, which is a consortium comprised of employers, economic, education, workforce development and economic development professionals and training providers that meet regularly to create strategies and programs that continually assess, prioritize, and respond to the workforce training needs of employers in the allied health industry. Its mission is “to assure that the region has the allied health resources necessary to meet the healthcare needs of its citizens”.

The Competitive Workforce Alliance and its Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership are very excited to have won this grant. Work has already begun on the initial stages of project implementation. Stay tuned for future developments! For more information on the Competitive Workforce Alliance and the Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership, please visit www.agreatworkforce.com or contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or by email at dhollars@centralina.org.