Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Make it in America Challenge Grants Aim at Economic Growth, Job Creation

KRA Corporation explores the new Obama Administration initiative designed to create projects that aid in accelerated job creation and increased business investment in the manufacturing sector.

The winners of the Make it in America Challenge were announced recently with the 10 grantees receiving a combined total of $20,533,409 for “projects supporting regional economic development, advanced skills training, greater supply chain access and other enhancements.”

The grant winners submitted applications for projects that “help distressed regions build on existing assets, promote a competitive environment for foreign-owned and domestic firms to establish and grow their U.S. operations, create jobs and develop a skilled workforce for specific industries.”

The Make it in America Challenge—a jointly-funded effort aiding programs whose aim is to keep, expand, or reshore U.S.-based manufacturing operations, as well as attracting foreign business investment—is an attempt to develop and explore sustainable and means of capitalizing on the recent resurgence in the manufacturing sector (with reported figures of over half a million jobs created in this industry).

The initiative looks to strengthen the economy and build on the manufacturing sector’s recent success by convincing both international and domestic businesses to either build and/or expand their U.S. operations. By encouraging U.S companies to reshore or expand domestic facilities, and attracting new international business investment and operations, job creation—and skilled jobs at that—will be accelerated further.

Secretary Perez, speaking to the initiative said: "in an increasingly sophisticated economy, equipping workers with the skills they need to succeed on the job isn't just a workforce development issue, but also an economic development issue and the partnerships funded through these Make it in America Challenge grants are helping to lead the way."

As a company dedicated to leading workforce development into the future, KRA Corporation appreciates the emphasis placed on the need for strategies and programs that equip workers with the requisite skills that, not only provide businesses with a trained and capable worker, but also the ability to adapt and succeed into the future.

As part of the initiative, the Department of Commerce published an informational tool, the Assess Costs Everywhere (ACE), which highlights the associated costs and risks of offshore production as well as providing links to resources (public and private) to help better inform and guide companies in their decision making process as to locating offshore.

KRA Corporation salutes this bold multi-layered effort to bring companies back to the U.S. as well as attracting foreign investment onshore in an effort to stimulate the economy and aid in new job creation the same time.

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