Economic activity rarely adheres to political borders.  This is especially true for the City of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes, many of which absorbed—in a dispersed and disorganized fashion—the city’s working- and middle-class jobs, residents, and economic opportunities.  Indeed, in the decades before Katrina, New Orleans was losing jobs and skilled labor.  In 2007, the challenge is to create a regional systematic response to address the pre-Katrina problems: (1) high job-vacancy and skill shortages in key industries (2) tight labor market (3) adult underemployment and illiteracy and (4) the out-migration of college graduates and professional workers.   

In short, New Orleans and its surrounding region must build its workforce and jobs capacity to address the current challenges of rebuilding and long-term revitalization.  We are seeking to create skill-based careers, which migrate from entry level to broader opportunities, for the underemployed.

GNOF is investing in non-profits and regional economic alliances that are implementing sector-based workforce training programs.  The regional economic goal is to align efforts in recruitment, training and placement with the hiring needs of the region’s key industry sectors: tourism, shipbuilding, healthcare, film and video, and oil and gas. 

This grantmaking program is currently by invitation only.