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ELKINS -- The Randolph County Development Authority will receive a $480,000 federal grant for workforce development and job training.
"We were very thankful that the United States Economic Development Administration approved our workforce training planning grant," Robbie Morris, executive director of the RCDA, told The Inter-Mountain Tuesday. "We will use that grant to pay for equipment and an instructor to expand the course offerings here at the Wood Technology Center.
"We'll be having a heavy equipment course, and we'll also be expanding the equipment that we have in the wood shop to provide training on equipment that you would commonly find in a lot of our hardwood manufacturers in this region.
"We're really excited," Morris said. "The Wood Technology Center has been in tremendous growth mode over the last several years and we continue to do that. This grant will allow us to train employees in skill sets for jobs that are available in this area."
The grant was announced by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., along with a $210,000 grant for the Regional Intergovernmental Council, which will support economic development planning for Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Putnam counties.
"Investing in our local communities creates good-paying jobs and spurs economic opportunity," Manchin said. "The EDA continues to be a strong partner for West Virginia, and these investments will strengthen economic and workforce development efforts throughout Randolph, Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Putnam Counties.
"I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of these awards for years to come, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to support economic growth across the Mountain State."
The Randolph County Development Authority is the lead economic development organization in the county. The Authority has been assisting businesses for the past 30 years through real estate development, business retention efforts, facilitating state and federal business loans, offering special training to the wood industry, bringing new investment into the county, and receiving grants for area projects.