Wilmington – The United States Department of Labor has announced that it has awarded the Delaware Department of Labor a $693,357 grant to support dislocated workers through the development of a new web-based application that will be integrated into the state’s existing JobLink infrastructure.

The application is being developed as a way to help citizens respond to changes in their own employment and to apply to new opportunities. The impetus for the exploration of this new solution was the downsizing at DuPont earlier this year, though it is expected to be able to be applied for a wide range of uses once developed.

“This new system will be more user friendly and will help individuals think about new ways that they can apply skills they have developed in a previous job,” said Secretary of Labor Patrice Gilliam. “Our rapid response teams at the Department of Labor provide significant support and resources to impacted workers, but we can always do more. It’s particularly important that our online portals are as effective as possible in reaching these individuals and we are excited about taking this next step.”

The state began to explore new ways to enhance these efforts this spring, and the development of a new application that streamlined the process for identifying an employee’s skills and packaging them into a marketable profile that can be targeted towards specific firms quickly became a top priority, leading the state to seek additional funding.

The grant will be used to fund the initial development costs related to the building, testing, and maintenance of the application.