Norfolk State University Awarded a $1.6 Million Minority
College and University Skills Shortage Grant

Norfolk, Va.—On Friday, Oct. 20, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded Norfolk State University a $1.6 million grant to enable minority colleges and universities to develop new systems to train workers for high-skilled jobs in areas where companies are facing labor shortages.
      “I have often said that we don’t have a worker shortage in this country, we have a skills shortage,” said Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman.  “Colleges and universities that primarily serve minorities are in a unique position to provide leadership in closing this skills gap for African-American, Hispanic and Native American communities.”
      Norfolk State University is one of 13 minority colleges and universities that received a portion of the U.S. Department of Labor’s $14 million partnership building and skills training grant.  These partnership-building grants will be used to establish new regional partnerships involving colleges and universities, employers, local Workforce Investment Boards, elected officials and community and faith-based organizations.  They may also support the assessment of community needs, adapting training curricula to meet employers’ requirements for skilled workers and small-scale training activities.
      The grant will assist Norfolk State in developing the Hampton Roads Hospitality Education and Training Initiative, which will address employment shortages in the hospitality and tourism industry. Training will combine classroom learning and internships on basic industry-specific skills and computer literacy.  Larry Epplein, program director for hospitality management at Norfolk State, is the principal investigator for the grant. 
      The objective of the program is to train up to a minimum of 550 workers in courses that will lead to placement in career-track positions in restaurants, hotels and other tourism-related businesses.  It is targeted toward new, displaced and incumbent workers who are inexperienced, unskilled or need to upgrade their skills.  The target population will include large numbers of minority participants who are high school graduates and individuals who have not completed high school. 
      Participants who complete the required courses will receive the industry-standard certification.  The National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation and the American Hotel and Motel Association’s Educational Institute have developed the training that will be implemented in the project.  In addition, the target population will also have access to transportation assistance, childcare and course work assistance.
      For more information, call 757-823-8373.

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