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NC A&T receives $23.7M federal grant for clean energy workforce training

Image courtesy NC A&T

The federal government is awarding North Carolina A&T State University $23.7 million to develop a clean energy workforce training program. 

The grant was announced Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The funding will be used by NC A&T to create STEPS4GROWTH, a clean energy workforce training program with a focus on equity.

According to a news release, the program will utilize mobile training units in 16 North Carolina counties, essentially removing barriers to access and meeting workers where they live.

Congresswoman Kathy Manning, a Democrat who represents the Triad's 6th District, supported the school's grant application to the Department of Commerce. She says the demand for skilled workers is rising in North Carolina and praises NC A&T for its commitment to clean energy development.

"They are the perfect partner to be working with a whole variety of stakeholders to make sure that we have the best possible programs to train a diverse workforce to take these great new jobs that are coming to North Carolina," says Manning.

The funding is part of an American Rescue Plan program awarding grants to 32 worker-centered, industry-led partnerships across the country.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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