BridgeValley Community & Technical College Receives $1.151 Million Grant for Education and Skills Training in Green Technology

BridgeValley Community & Technical College (BVCTC) has been awarded a grant of $1,150,987 to invest in education and skills training for jobs in green technology, improving opportunities for a community impacted by layoffs in the coal industry. The grant will be provided under the EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs, including CARES Act Funding, and will be distributed over three years.

The grant will fund the WV Green Tech Jobs project, a generational opportunity to address poverty, career mobility, and equity in central West Virginia. It presents BVCTC with an opportunity to improve the skills and income of the resident population, particularly in regions impacted by layoffs in coal mining and other legacy industries.

BVCTC has partnered with area businesses, state and local economic development agencies, and the local workforce development board and system to train 200 workers immediately, and up to 900 workers over the next few years. The project will focus on training and retraining unemployed, underemployed, and dislocated workers, as well as new entrants to the labor market, for new green technology jobs growing in the region.

 "We are thrilled to receive this grant and grateful for the opportunity to provide skills training and employment in the green technology sector," said BVCTC President Casey Sacks. "This investment will have a positive impact on our community by creating new job opportunities and enhancing the skills of our workforce."