TC gets $250,000 grant in response to COVID-19

TEXARKANA, Texas — Texarkana College received a $250,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission’s Skills Development Fund to support specialized training for businesses and industries here impacted by COVID-19.

TC will use these funds to facilitate training by providing and managing instructors and building curriculum to help them push through the challenges the pandemic has created.

Executive director of Texarkana College’s Community and Business Education Center, Mendy Sharp, said the training opportunities provided by the grant will have a positive impact on the community and the development of employees in the region.

“It’s very critical to be investing in our businesses right now,” Sharp said Tuesday. “But this is more than just investing in the workforce, it’s investing in individual people and getting them opportunities to grow and expand their workforce skills.”

The initiative will provide training in response to the direct needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Training will target business partners retooling business processes, as well as those businesses that are retooling to provide continuing employment to employees.

“It hits a broad range of training,” Sharp said. “It’s everything from leadership capacity to getting down to the workforce. One of our focus areas right now is any training that would be in the workplace, like health, safety and human resources.”

Approximately $2,000 will be made available per qualifying participant.

The eligible industries for the grant include, but are not limited to, medical and health care, critical manufacturing, telecommunications, hospitality, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater.

“We are hopeful that these funds will aide businesses or industries in the Texarkana area to provide meaningful training and professional development to enhance their business operations or production,” Sharp said in a prepared statement.