LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Last week, Metro Council discussed healthcare being a top industry with a massive shortage when they passed $40 million in ARP funding towards healthcare.
The ARP funding proposal is about creating more than 3,000 jobs and developing new healthcare companies in the area to create an opportunity to connect people in the community with careers.
“There are 1,500 entry level jobs. There are 2,000 second tier jobs and then they layer into 10 different career pathways,” Councilman Markus Winkler said.
The funding will serve those in underserved communities by providing support and training to ultimately create high-paying jobs.
“So it’s just not the $42,000 that theses jobs are going to pay day one, but here is a career path in all of these jobs,” Winkler said.
The program will partner with Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville Urban League, AMPED, Metro Government and the University of Louisville along with the Healthcare CEO Council.
“Well, the other way that we can solve the affordable housing shortfalls is by having more people earn more money because then you’ll need fewer affordable units – you’ll have more people with higher wages,” Winkler said.
Winkler feels it is all about the bigger picture and taking a look at what they city is already doing. Overall, he said it is an exciting opportunity that will bring more investments and employment sustainability.
“The work that the University of Louisville is doing with the Environment Institute at 7th and Muhammad Ali and then you couple that with the work in the Medical District, you start to label these three pieces together,” he said. “I think you really start to create a critical mass in our city that can empower our economy for decades to come.”
Once the proposal has been signed by the mayor, community leaders plan to distribute the allocated funding as soon as possible.
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