Seven new workforce projects will be funded in Buffalo, in hopes to bring more jobs to the area.

More than $1.4 million in funding will be split between seven projects here in Buffalo, part of the governor’s poverty reduction initiative.

The area was one of 16 communities chosen a few years back to come up with strategies to reduce poverty and increase economic opportunity.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul announced the projects on Monday including Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Development, Northland Workforce Training Center, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Center for Governmental Research, Jackson Parker Communication, 211 and 311 call center staffing and Community Connections of NY.

She said the key to all these projects was the importance of growing industries and not training people for jobs of the last century.

"We have workers with jobs that need to be filled, in order for them to prosper and do well here in Western New York, that is good,” she said. “The challenge is, is how we connect the population in hard hit areas, hard hit zip codes, to those jobs, and the link is this program. The link is this program which is going to identify the jobs that are available, the people who need them but make them have the skills that are necessary for them to prosper and become financially independent."

In total, $25 million will fund the 16 communities across New York that were chosen for the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.