The Employment and Training Administration is seeking applications for its Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Grant
Donor Name: Employment and Training Administration
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/23/2026
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative Round 7 is a partnership between the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and three regional commissions—the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), and the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC). WORC 7 will address the critical workforce needs of employers in high-growth and emerging industries across the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border regions (WORC regions). Eligible applicants include industry and employer associations; labor-management organizations; education/training providers; workforce development entities; Native American tribal governments and organizations; and state, county, and local governments. Eligible applicants will contribute to large-scale regional economic development models through the formation or enhancement of regional industry and sector partnerships that bring together employers, education and training providers, and workforce development entities, among other partners, to design and implement grant projects that embed industry-driven strategies, including Registered Apprenticeships, and enhance worker mobility.
WORC 7 will invest in large-scale regional industry and sector partnerships that will design and implement industry-driven training programs that close skills gaps and increase the talent pipeline in critical sectors and support increased worker mobility by engaging individuals disconnected from the workforce and offering career pathways into high-wage occupations for rural populations in WORC regions. For the purposes of this FOA, a large-scale regional area means multiple counties (or parishes), jurisdictions, municipalities, metropolitan statistical areas, or census tracts within one state or across state lines. WORC 7 grant projects are intended to support economic development models that are broad in scale and scope to ensure maximum impact across the WORC regions.
Goals and Objectives
- Core Element 1: Industry-Driven Strategies
- Core Element 2: Worker Mobility
Funding Information
- Expected Total Available Funding $49,200,000
- Expected Number of Awards 6-24
- Funding Range Per Award $2,000,000 – $8,000,000
Eligibility Criteria
The following are the eligible applicants, subject to the additional eligibility requirements described further below.
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Independent school districts
- Public/state controlled institutions of higher education
- Indian/Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Indian/Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status, (other than institutions of higher education)
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS status, (other than institutions of higher education)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
- Other
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
