Bridgeport Workforce Development Firm Receives Federal Grant

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A Bridgeport-based workforce development organization is receiving a federal grant of just under $3 million to support training programs "and address staffing challenges nursing professionals face in the care economy."

The WorkPlace is one of two-dozen workforce training organizations in 17 states that will receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration under its Nursing Expansion Grant Program. Only one Connecticut group is receiving a grant under the program.

From the Department of Labor announcement:

The grants will support innovative partnerships and strategies that expand and diversify America’s pipeline of qualified nursing professionals. Specifically, these grants will increase the number of nursing instructors and educators. They will also support the creation of equitable opportunities for frontline healthcare professionals to advance on a career pathway, and better meet our nation’s need for critical care today and for years to come.

“The grants we’re awarding today recognize the burden so many nurses have shouldered for too long by supporting programs to expand and diversify the workforce,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Brent Parton. “These investments will also help to ensure the nation’s well-being and continue to strengthen our care economy using proven practices and strategies.”

The funding will help grant recipients improve diversity in the healthcare workforce and address the health equity gap in America’s underserved communities by embedding diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility strategies into their programs. By doing so, the programs will ensure people from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities have pathways to good jobs and careers in nursing.