Labor Department awards $2 million to help dislocated Ohio coal workers as part of Obama administration's POWER initiative

Grant part of nearly $15 million being awarded today

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $2 million National Dislocated Worker Grant to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services for reemployment and training services to dislocated workers impacted by coal industry layoffs in Ohio. The grant is part of the Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative announced in March.

A coordinated effort among nine federal agencies, POWER makes integrated investments in communities and workers hurt by changes in the coal industry and power sector. The Ohio grant is part of an investment of nearly $15 million in 36 projects announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

"Recent changes in the energy economy are having a profound impact on Appalachian families and communities that have relied on the coal industry for generations," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez in announcing the grant at the Shaping Our Appalachian Region Strategy Summit 2015 in Pikeville, Kentucky in May 2015. "We have a moral imperative to work together to ensure we all succeed. That's what the POWER initiative is all about — developing truly cohesive relationships at the federal, state and local levels to create real economic opportunities for families throughout the region."

The grant's funds will provide training, work-based learning, and supportive services to dislocated coal miners and other dislocated workers impacted by mass layoffs in the coal industry. Training will help these workers prepare for in-demand jobs generated by the rapid expansion of the oil and gas industry in Ohio's Appalachian region.

The department previously announced the availability of up to $20 million in Dislocated Worker Grants as part of the POWER initiative. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis through June 30, 2017.