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International Approaches in Place-Based Skills Development

The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative

Place-Based Workforce Development in Appalachia, the Lower Mississippi Delta and the Northern Border Regions of the United States

Abigail Jackson
Shaimaa Yassin
Jiaxin Gu
by Abigail Jackson, Shaimaa Yassin, Jiaxin Gu December 1, 2025
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Location The United States, focusing on the Appalachian (13 states), Lower Mississippi Delta (eight states) and Northern Border regions (four states)
Initiative The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative
Program snapshot In 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration partnered with the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority — two regional economic development agencies — to launch the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative. In 2023, the initiative expanded to include the Northern Border Regional Commission. Since its launch, six rounds of grants have invested over $209 million in 158 projects. The initiative awards grants to locally administered, place-based workforce development projects in rural communities that are grappling with long-term economic distress linked to the decline of traditional industries, such as coal mining, forestry and manufacturing. In 2024, the initiative’s sixth funding round expanded eligibility for so-called energy communities, including those with brownfields and areas with a coal-plant or -mine closure, to link rural workforce development with decarbonization goals. The WORC Initiative supports projects that identify and address regional workforce needs and boost local employers’ competitiveness. Its goal is to help communities retain residents by connecting them to family-sustaining, in-demand and quality jobs through career training and supportive services. Examples of funded projects include locally delivered upskilling and retraining programs, vocational training and apprenticeships, career counselling and entrepreneurship support, short-term certification and qualification programs and initiatives to build employment pipelines with local employers.
Sector focus Projects are driven by local conditions and priorities. The 158 grant projects to date span sectors such as health care, trade, information technology, aviation, manufacturing, aerospace, clean energy and agricultural technology.
Time frame Launched in 2019, the WORC Initiative completed six grant rounds between 2019 and 2024. A seventh round is currently under development.

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About the authors
Abigail Jackson
Abigail Jackson is a research associate at the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Shaimaa Yassin
Shaimaa Yassin is a senior research director at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. She leads the Toward a More Equitable Canada research program, which has published studies on affordability, including housing and other basic needs that intersect with climate and energy policy, food insecurity and income supports for lower income Canadians, and proposed dental care and pharmacare programs. She leads the IRPP’s role as a research and knowledge mobilization partner of the Affordability Action Council and also serves as a member.  She manages the IRPP’s postdoctoral fellowship program in support of Indigenous, Black and other racialized scholars.
Jiaxin Gu
Jiaxin Gu is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of British Columbia. She was a research intern at the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) from February to July 2025, where she contributed to the IRPP-Future Skills Centre project. Her research explores themes of immigration, labour market integration, social epidemiology and adolescent substance use in North America. She holds a BA (Honours) and an MA in sociology from the University of British Columbia.
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