ST. Bernard Parish Government Workforce Programs

ST. Bernard Parish Government Workforce Programs, operating under the business name First Planning District, is a U.S. local government entity registered with the federal government since April 2011 to receive federal awards. The organization is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, and serves the First Planning District region. ST. Bernard Parish Government Workforce Programs provides workforce development and training services to federal agencies through federal grant awards, with a primary focus on addressing regional labor market gaps, supporting economically disadvantaged populations, and aligning educational and training pathways with employer needs.

ST. Bernard Parish Government Workforce Programs has demonstrated significant federal grant activity as both a prime recipient and subrecipient of federal awards. Most notably, the organization received a $339,877.38 Cooperative Agreement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach program beginning October 1, 2025, which addresses cybersecurity workforce talent shortages across the Tri-Parish region of Louisiana (Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes). This initiative involves labor market analysis, stakeholder collaboration, curriculum alignment, experiential learning opportunities, and the launch of a workforce portal and dashboard aligned with the NIST NICE Framework. Additionally, ST. Bernard Parish Government Workforce Programs has received multiple subgrant awards from the Louisiana Workforce Commission under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program since 2023, including WIOA Youth grants, WIOA Adult grants, and WIOA Dislocated Worker grants. These subgrants support comprehensive workforce services delivered through American Job Center network facilities, including career services, skills training, supportive services such as transportation and childcare assistance, labor exchange services, and individualized employment planning for vulnerable populations including out-of-school youth ages 14-24, low-income adults, basic skills-deficient individuals, dislocated workers, and other individuals with employment barriers. The organization's federal grant work emphasizes serving as a prime grantee that makes subawards to execute initiatives and delivering direct workforce development services to underserved regional populations.