NGA grant to help reskill Alabama workers displaced by COVID-19 pandemic By Jerry Underwood March 11, 2021 Between March 21, 2020 and January 30, 2021, more than 950,000 Alabamians filed an initial unemployment claim, signaling a critical need for assistance. A new $100,000 grant from the National Governors Association will help the state provide the resources displaced workers need to get back on track. (Made in Alabama) The National Governors Association (NGA) has awarded Alabama a $100,000 Workforce Innovation Network and Workforce Innovation Fund grant to develop innovative policies for retraining Alabamians who have been displaced by the pandemic. The NGA grant will be used to support Alabama’s Skills-Based Recovery Initiative, which will provide integrated education, workforce and human services for displaced Alabama workers, allowing them to retrain and reenter the workforce in an occupation leading to a family-sustaining wage.