Wabash County joins Huntington County in seeking workforce development grants

According to Gillenwater, retraining the County's workforce is essential to bringing new jobs to Wabash and money made available through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs' (OCRA) workforce development grant is one way he plans to address this need.

He and leaders from the Wabash County Chamber of Commerce, Ivy Tech Wabash, Wabash City Schools and Heartland Career Center have come together with leaders from Huntington County to apply for the block grants, which will be awarded to eight communities selected by OCRA.

Gillenwater added that he hopes to raise an additional $500,000 in industry match dollars for a total of $750,000 to aid workforce development. The two-county region has already solicited partnerships with WorkOne and Northeast Indiana Works, he said.

Monies from the OCRA grant and industry match dollars will be used to purchase manufacturing equipment and to train adult workers in the two counties, Gillenwater added, noting that Huntington and Wabash counties have similar workforce characterisitcs that he believes will facilitate the partnership.

Commissioners offered support of the coalition's efforts to team up with local and regional economic leaders.

"Anything we can do to help make our folks here more employable...that's what it's all about for the future of the County," Commissioner Chair Brain Haupert said.

Commissioner Barry Eppley motioned to support the cause with up to $10,000 in County funding paid through the County Economic Development Income Tax Fund (CEDIT) and Commissioner Scott Givens seconded to unanimous approval.