The Laurinburg Exchange - January 21, 2010
Scotland County is one of a group of counties to benefit from $5.9 million green job training grant, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Development, is receiving more than $5.9 million from the Labor Department to focus on providing training and education for jobs related to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The project expects to enroll 1,137 participants with emphasis on unemployed workers, military spouses, veterans, at-risk youth, individuals with a criminal record, farmers and migrant and seasonal workers.

Of that sum, $1.4 million will be given to the Lumber River Workforce Development Board and will benefit Scotland, Robeson, Hoke and Bladen counties, according to Haven Kerchner a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell's office.

Full details of how the money will be spent were unavailable at presstime.

Kissell spoke about the grant in Concord while announcing the creation of 206 jobs from the expansion of a green company in Charlotte.

“Our district needs good jobs, and training for future jobs," Kissell said. "Today we take a major step forward in the advancement of green technology for our district and our state. The .... grant for Scotland County will both advance the cause of energy-efficient technology and will help put our district in a competitive position to participate in the expanding Green Energy economy for years to come. Funding for this type of job creation and workforce training, coming home to our district, are examples of why I supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Janice Ivey, a spokeswoman for the division of workforce development, said the money is going to Lumber River Workforce Development Board and Scotland County is just one of several counties that will benefit.

Scotland was the focus of the application for the grant, however, as it fit an additional criteria the other counties did not – it was impacted by the collapse of the auto industry. Of the $190 distributed by the Department of Labor for job training, $25 million was designated to go to areas affected by the decline of auto-related jobs.

Thirty-four awards ranging from approximately $2 million to $6 million each are being made to state workforce investment boards in partnership with their state workforce agencies, local workforce investment boards or regional consortia of boards, and One-Stop Career Center delivery systems, according to the Department of Labor.