Success Stories

Displaying 1 - 9 of 9

October 15, 2024

EDA’s Good Jobs Challenge Helps Miami Students Design New Careers

Kathleen Finch has always had a knack for design and enjoyed creating clothing and home good items for public consumption.  This led her to many years as a textile designer with a major department store chain. As technology continued to evolve, so too did Kathleen’s interest in applying emerging tech to her creative skills.
  • Workforce Development
  • American Rescue Plan
September 10, 2024

EDA Supports Aviation and Aerospace Education on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Pearl River is just a short drive from the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. Operated by NASA, it is America’s largest and most productive test site for rocket propulsion systems, serving both the nation and the commercial sector. As early as 2005, school officials saw the need to develop a steady pipeline of skilled workers capable of supporting the growing aviation and aerospace fields on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
  • Workforce Development
July 16, 2024

EDA-Funded Manufacturing Revival Underway in New England

Pittsfield, Massachusetts is a small New England community about two hours from Boston. Throughout the 20th Century, it was known as a hub for manufacturing, providing residents with a host of jobs in regional production plants. General Electric (GE) was the town’s biggest employer, operating a plastic production facility along the Housatonic River.
  • Workforce Development
May 14, 2024

EDA-Funded Opportunity Center in KY Opens Opportunities for Every Ability

The Muhlenberg County Opportunity Center (MCOC) first opened its doors in 1966, about 25 years before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This non-profit organization in western Kentucky provides mentoring, vocational training, and jobs to adults with disabilities, serving as a critical connector to opportunities and services.
  • Disaster Recovery
  • Workforce Development
April 4, 2024

Multiple EDA Grants Transform Base Closure into Economic Opportunity in West Texas

The place-based investment is core to EDA’s mission, with our team working closely with local community leaders to ensure EDA’s grants support targeted economic development based on each community’s unique needs. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, which allows EDA’s grants to be flexible, dynamic, and meet the moment that’s called for in each community. In Lubbock, Texas, that has translated into multiple EDA investments, as leaders turn a painful Air Force Base closure into economic opportunity for the region.
  • Infrastructure
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Manufacturing
  • Workforce Development
January 23, 2024

EDA Investment Brings Critical Job-Training Programs to Franklin County, Tennessee

Franklin County, Tennessee is a small community rich in history. Located about two hours from Nashville, it was first established in 1800 and named for one of the most famous Americans of that time—or any time—Benjamin Franklin. One of the earliest settlers was noted frontiersman Davey Crockett, who called Franklin County his home for more than four years.
  • Workforce Development
May 10, 2022

North Charleston’s Opportunity Center Helps Empower Entrepreneurs and Build Generational Wealth in Low-Income Communities

In January 2022, The Opportunity Center opened for business in North Charleston, South Carolina, designed to create economic development opportunities for low-income communities. This innovative space provides workforce development, small business incubators, and coworking spaces benefiting entrepreneurs and start-ups, while maintaining offices of local non-profits actively working in the community and economic development sector.
  • Workforce Development
May 6, 2022

Specialized Health Sciences Equipment has Unanticipated Benefits for College

​​​​​​​Several years ago, Bismarck State College (BSC) was at a crossroads with its health sciences programs. BSC offered Nursing, EMT/Paramedic, Medical Lab Technician and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) programs as well as the only Surgical Technology program in the state.
  • Workforce Development
February 8, 2022

EDA and GCA Partner to Upskill Guam’s Workforce

In 2006, when the U.S. Marine Corps made plans to expand its footprint on Guam, one logistical challenge became immediately apparent: the project would require nearly three times more construction workers than were available in the Territory. For leaders in Guam’s construction industry, however, the dilemma was nothing new. They’d been dealing with a shortage of skilled workers since the hotel building boom of the 1980s.
  • Workforce Development