The North Carolina Department of Commerce has won a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help workers who have lost their jobs, or are at risk of losing them, to start small businesses.
The labor department's Employment and Training Administration is distributing more than $17 million in awards to nine state agencies and one community college system in the competition to fund dislocated workers.
The money will be used for demonstration projects that build the skills and employment options of state residents who are currently without a job or who are deemed to be facing a risk of joblessness.
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the North Carolina funding as part of the program's goal "to help workers develop the skills they need to succeed in new careers and even start new businesses."