US Department of Labor awards more than $2.5M to North Carolina to support employment, training services in response to paper mill layoffs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an award of more than $2.5 million to support employment and training services for people in western North Carolina affected by the closure of Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill and by the company’s reduction in operations at its Waynesville facility.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the award to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Solutions, is the first increment of a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to approximately $7.5 million that will allow the state to provide retraining and skills development for dislocated workers in Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain and Transylvania counties.

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, National Dislocated Worker Grants provide a state or local board with funding for direct services and assistance in areas experiencing a major economic dislocation event that leads to workforce needs exceeding available resources.