Eleven chambers completed the Economic Mobility for Rural Workers Cohort by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Foundation. These chambers serve rural communities and brought local partners together to provide rural learners and workers from low-income backgrounds with the training needed to access living-wage jobs.

Congratulations to:

• The Box Elder Chamber of Commerce (Utah)
• Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
• Lebanon Valley Chamber (Pa.)
• Jackson County Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
• Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. (Wash.)
• Berkeley Chamber of Commerce (S.C.)
• Vail Valley Partnership (Colo.)
• White County Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
• Elevate Rapid City (S.D.)
• One Acadiana (La.)
• Bristol Chamber (Va./Tenn.)

"Congratulations to the members of this cohort on expanding their knowledge and creating community partnerships to help rural, low-income learners gain the practical skills needed for impactful career progression," said ACCE President & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly. "The insights and lessons learned by the cohort will inform ACCE's continuing focus on helping rural-serving chambers of commerce promote economic mobility."

Through their participation in the program, members of the cohort identified silos within their community’s postsecondary education and training efforts. In many cases, the education, nonprofit and business sectors were not communicating, much less collaborating. Chambers of commerce are uniquely positioned to bring postsecondary education providers and business together to make sure education and training programs are aligned with employer needs and workforce demands.

"It has been an incredible honor to collaborate with such an amazing group of people to create, grow, and sustain workforce pathways across the U.S." said Erik Williams, Director of Community Development at Vail Valley Partnership. "I’m deeply encouraged to see the strategies we’ve implemented through Eagle County’s CareerWise apprenticeship program being modeled in communities nationwide. I am profoundly grateful to ACCE for providing the connections and insights that helped us strengthen our program locally while contributing to national efforts."

The ACCE Foundation provided technical assistance, consulting support, peer learning opportunities and connections to content experts. The cohort was divided into four subgroups to pilot strategies to address needs and support outcomes for low-income rural workers to secure well-paid jobs. Participants are tracking the number of low-income workers placed in well-paid jobs and the average wage increase for participating learners. Participants also measured progress toward strengthening community relationships throughout the cohort.

The ACCE Foundation received support for this cohort from Ascendium Education Philanthropy.