Gov. Kay Ivey has announced a $1 million grant to prepare Fort Payne high school students and adults for the future while helping to meet the needs of Alabama’s workforce in several career fields.

The funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission will be used to help the Fort Payne Board of Education construct a new vocational center aimed at training students in careers that include construction, electric vehicle and aviation technologies.

“Alabama is sounding the call for a skilled workforce and the Fort Payne Board of Education is responding to that demand,” Gov. Ivey said. “This program will ensure that students graduating from high school will be ready for rewarding and high-paying jobs, and that employers will be hiring a qualified workforce to move our state forward.”

The new Building, Electric and Aviation Technology Center will provide students with a rigorous training program in a workplace environment to ready them for careers.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the ARC program in Alabama.

“The path to rewarding careers does not always go through colleges and universities,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “I applaud the Fort Payne Board of Education for offering other options for students who have the same dreams for successful careers but choose a different path to get there.”

ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments. The agency’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation. Thirty-seven Alabama counties, including DeKalb County, are part of the ARC region and eligible for funds.

ADECA manages a range of programs that support law enforcement, economic development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.

© Copyright 2021, Times-Journal.com, Fort Payne, AL

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Gov. Ivey announces grant to build vocational center in Fort Payne. (2021, May 11). Times-Journal. Retrieved from https://times-journal.com/article_a11f0080-b27e-11eb-9839-8b871747a8cc.html