The City of Wilmington received grants totaling $110,000 for t a job-training program through a partnership with Delaware State University at an event last week that highlighted other small business initiatives.
This year, the city’s Small & Minority Business Enterprise Office assembled a team of stakeholders from the Mayor’s Business Roundtable including Alpha Technologies, Capital One, Comcast Corporation, Christiana Care Health System, Franklin Fibre, and JPMorgan Chase to apply for the Delaware Department of Labor’s “Today’s Reinvestment Around Industry Needs” (TRAIN) grant.
The TRAIN Initiative was designed to bring stakeholders together to:
• Address business workforce needs by focusing on long-term solutions to sustained skills gaps.
• Address the needs of workers by creating formal career paths to good jobs.
• Foster coordination between the public and private sectors, as well as, the workforce, economic development, and education partners around the state.
The state awarded the city’s Small & Minority Business Office a $20,000 first-round planning grant. The grant was used to engage Delaware State University’s Center for Economic Development & International Trade (UCEDIT).
UCEDIT interviewed corporate representatives to identify employer needs and helped the SMBEO produce a Strategic Workforce Training Plan. The City’s Strategic Workforce Training Plan, which focuses on customer service, was submitted to DOL and was awarded a $90,500 implementation grant for UCEDIT to deliver training and job placement services to 40 participants through the Preparing Responsible Engaged Professionals (PREP) Program.
Candidates who apply and are accepted to the PREP Program will receive comprehensive instruction in: customer service essentials, customer privacy, effective communication, emotional intelligence, problem identification and resolution, and job search/interviewing techniques, a release stated.
In addition to the grants awarded by the DOL, the city also won a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to automate the City’s business license application process.
“Small and minority-owned businesses are a critical focal point, as the City continues our efforts on increasing economic and employment opportunities along the riverfront, in downtown Wilmington and across neighborhoods throughout the city,” said city Economic Development Director Flynn. “Through the hard work of the Small & Minority Business Enterprise Office, residents and small business owners now have improved access to key resources through the newly launched online business license process and job training program.”
During the event, the SMBEO also announced investments made through the Business Savers Plus Program, The Neighborhood Business Development Program, and the Grow Wilmington Fund.
The Business Savers Plus is a small business grant program that allows eligible Wilmington businesses to save up to $2,000 and earn up to a combined total of $5,000 provided by the Women’s Business Center and the City of Wilmington.
Jason Aviles, owner of Flyogi, was the first local entrepreneur to receive this grant. He used the funding to invest in equipment, supplies, and marketing. Jason commented that, “Investment tools like the Business Savers Plus Program are great for entrepreneurs looking to grow and expand.”
In addition to the Business Savers Plus Program, the city’s small business office highlighted how they also successfully provided financial resources to the North Market Street commercial corridor. Specifically, the SMBEO engaged the team at the Wilmington Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO) to facilitate a $50,000 private investment loan and help jumpstart the area’s revitalization efforts.
Donald Kim, the owner of Discount Beauty Supply, remarked, “I have been in business on North Market Street for more than 20 years, and I am glad to see the City, funders, and local business owners working together to invest in the neighborhood.”
Also, the Small Business Office created and launched this $4 million SBA 7(a), low-interest loan program in 2015, in conjunction with Discover Bank, and the National Development Council’s Grow America Fund.
The first Grow Wilmington Fund loan was recently awarded (with a 2.99% fixed rate) to the Kitchen, a fast-growing film production company that “helps agencies, companies, and organizations access the emotional power of the cinematic medium.”
