Providing workforce training to the Delta Region
Over the past few months, I can’t help but be re-inspired by the resilience of the American spirit and the resolve of the Delta’s residents. On the heels of what many economists considered “full employment,” the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread across the country and our communities has marked record high unemployment rates, safer-at-home orders, business closures, and a national conversation around a “new normal.”
With a third of the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt’s economies centered on employment sectors most heavily impacted by the pandemic, our region has realized a disproportionate share of the detrimental effect. However, I am most optimistic about the signs of our regional economy beginning to regroup and recover.
20 years ago, the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) was established by Congress to address economic distress within the Mississippi River Delta Region and Alabama Black Belt by providing investments in basic public infrastructure,transportation infrastructure, workforce development, and small businesses with an emphasis in entrepreneurship.
Investing in the workforce to invest in lives
Since the beginning of my tenure at DRA, I have ensured economic development and skills development go hand in hand. Research has shown targeted workforce training programs provide benefits to local and regional economies eight times larger than associated costs of such programs.
Evidenced by our ongoing partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Opportunity for Rural
Communities initiative and our own Delta Workforce Program, DRA has emphasized the importance of investing in human capital to advance the Delta’s economy.
Last year, I made a commitment to continue traveling across the Delta Region to speak with students, teachers, and business leaders from various sectors on the role of apprenticeships and workforce training programs in revitalizing the Delta economy.
Eager to fulfill this commitment, this month I had the opportunity to visit a few of our partners continuing to provide much needed skills training and support services to our region’s workforce. I was awed by the progress of programs in which DRA has invested and in their ability to develop and deliver innovative training solutions through these unprecedented circumstances.
Accompanied by U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), I first visited Arkansas
Northeastern College (ANC) in Blytheville to discuss the university’s ADWORC initiative. Through ADWORC, ANC is delivering training and support services to 1,300 residents in a threestate, fourteen-county region.
Under President Shemwell’s leadership, students are able to obtain industry-recognized certifications in less time and, as a result, be better positioned to take of advantage of employment opportunities in high-demand fields.
The landscape of training across the Delta
In Hopkins County, Kentucky, Madisonville Community College provided me an opportunity to view their newly expanded workforce training centers. Taking advantage of opportunities from both DRA and the Department of Labor, MCC, in partnership with Henderson Community College, has prepared Western Kentucky to fully benefit from its strategic location along Interstate 69 and prevalence as a national leader in energy development.
Through its partnerships with the private sector, MCC’S vision to align its CDL and lineman training programs have provided employers in a six-county region with access to a skilled and ready workforce.
In Caruthersville, Missouri, I met with city officials to discuss the dire need for experienced, well-trained water and wastewater professionals.
With many of these skilled professionals reaching retirement age, DRA last year partnered with the Missouri Rural Water Association (MRWA) to expand an accredited apprenticeship program to meet this growing demand.
DRA’S strategic investment in the MRWA expanded on-the-job training and work-based learning have better prepared southeast Missourians to take advantage of these career opportunities as well as ensure the long-term resilience of the Region’s critical infrastructure.
This trip reiterated the importance of local and regional public-private partnerships in realizing the long-term success of workforce investments and, ultimately, improving the competitiveness of our regional employers.
Also, I’m reminded of the growing number of pathways available to Delta residents to achieve the skills needed to succeed in the changing economy.
As we move into a state of recovery, I cannot help but be optimistic about the Delta’s future.
Even through this cloud of uncertainty, our local and regional institutions remain dedicated in their efforts to engage our business community and prepare our next generation workforce.
Whether traditional four-year college or technical education, industry-recognized apprenticeships, or on-the-job training, the Delta is well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities the resurging economy will make available.
As a federal-state partnership established to promote the economic advancement of the Delta economy, I will continue to look for opportunities to support residents of the Delta Region to advance their knowledge base and skill sets and set the stage for the development of a more resilient Delta economy.
Chris Caldwell is the Federal Cochairman of Delta Regional Authority.