$7.6 million federal training grant boosts opportunity for unemployed in 10 counties

The Region 4 Workforce Board announced on Friday that it received a $7.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The four-year program will provide training for manufacturing jobs through the Rapid Reemployment for Advancing Manufacturing Positions, or “RAMP,” said Roger Feldhaus, Region 4 Workforce executive director.

“We know that the unemployed workers in our region are eager to get back to a job,” he said. “Their talents and qualities have been wasted too long.”

Ivy Tech Community College and Purdue University will upgrade the skills of unemployed workers so they can work in technologically advanced clean manufacturing jobs, he said.

The program is aimed specifically at bringing people back into the workforce, said Region 4 chief operations officer Deborah Waymire.