Washington, D.C. (WV News) — U.S. Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $1 million for agriculture workforce training.
The training will take place at Pierpont Community & Technical College and Sprouting Farms' Greenville Farm Kitchen, and at the Eastern Workforce Opportunity Regional Center and Services through the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Both programs work to provide students with the skills and resources needed to join the workforce and secure industry-accepted credentials.
“West Virginians are some of the hardest working people in the nation, we just need the opportunity to prove ourselves," Manchin said in a release. "This funding from NIFA is great news for West Virginia’s food and agricultural workforce and will help support our state’s agriculture and agribusiness sectors."
The programs will set the groundwork for the future.
“These programs will prepare the workforce of tomorrow by providing hands-on learning experiences, as well as internship and mentorship opportunities," Manchin said in a release. "As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue to fight for funding and resources that allow our workforce to access good-paying jobs here in the Mountain State, and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of these projects for years to come.”
Capito said that she is glad to see these investments from NIFA headed into West Virginia to support the agriculture sector and workforce.
"Our students in West Virginia have such a great opportunity to engage with agricultural enterprise, and programs like this will give them the foundation they need to get a head start," Capito said. "Increased focus on initiatives like this will not only expand our agricultural workforce, but also strengthen the economy of our rural communities. I look forward to the impact these competitive awards will have in our state."