Located in and around the ‘Magic City’ of Birmingham, Alabama, Jefferson State Community College (JSCC) campuses serve more than 15,000 students each year – over half of whom are first-generation college students. JSCC provides more than 33 certificates and training programs in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing,…

In September 2021, Frostburg State University received the state of Maryland’s first-ever ARC POWER implementation grant. The $1,480,979 award helped continue the development of the Advanced Technology Center at Frostburg’s Innovation Park, which works to strengthen Western Maryland’s economy by creating new job opportunities…

This story is one of several "Stories of Change" highlighted in a new evaluation of ARC's POWER Initiative.

The Alabama Community College System offers job training at no cost.

Across Appalachia, developing a ready workforce must include helping workers re-enter and retain employment. Since 2017, the staff at the Helen Ross McNabb Center in Morristown, Tennessee, has been doing just that. The McNabb Center’s Jail to Work program gives women serving in county jails on drug offenses the…

“About 80% of West Virginia businesses have 20 or less employees,” said Alyssa Keedy, the Advanced Career Education Coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). Why is that the case? One reason is a disconnect between West Virginia workers and the skills needed by local employers. With many…

The Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0, is a state-of-the-art workforce training center looking to produce trained workers for some of the world’s most technically advanced manufacturers. ARC has invested $10.7 million in the 135,000-square-foot facility that delivers training and education to support…

In Jamestown, New York, the Dream It, Do It program is changing the way girls see manufacturing – and themselves. Though the third-largest industry sector in Western New York, the manufacturing workforce is only comprised 27% by women. As local employers face a serious worker shortage…

Base Camp Coding Academy (BCCA), a non-profit learning center in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, offers intensive computer programming training to recent northern Mississippi high school graduates free of charge. Based in Water Valley, BCCA was first launched in 2016 as a pilot program in partnership with Northwest Community College (NWCC). Between 2017-2020, BCCA graduated…

Western Maryland Works is a full-service makerspace, small-business incubator project that provides access to technology and equipment, and training facility focusing on machining, welding, and industrial maintenance. With ARC support, Western Maryland Works purchased state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing equipment such as computers, electronic classroom systems, general furnishings, equipment for wood working,…