Dislocated Worker Manufacturing Technology Demonstration Program (SGA/DAA 99-001)
NEWS RELEASE
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release June 29, 1999
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES $9.5 MILLION
TO HELP TEN STATES TRAIN WORKERS IN HIGH TECH SKILLS
Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore announced today that ten
states across the country will receive $9.5 million to help workers who
have been laid off get training in advanced manufacturing skills.
Specifically, the Vice President announced the following Department
of Labor grants: FL - $895,872; IL - $1,000,000; MA - $1,000,000; MD -
$989,900; MI - $1,000,000; MO - $982,112; NY - $938,302; OH - $989,370;
PA - $776,947; WI - $1,000,000.
"In this era of global competition and rapid technological changes,
technology is one of the most important factors in sustaining economic
growth," Vice President Gore said. "These grants will focus on training
workers for industries experiencing a shortage of skilled workers."
"The goal is to prepare these workers who may have obsolete skills
with the high-tech skills that will guarantee their future," US
Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman said. "Local manufacturers will
identify the skills that are needed for the jobs they know will be
there."
Services available include assessment of worker skills and
abilities, career counseling, customized classroom and on-the-job
training, academic tutoring, work internships and job placement
assistance. In addition, support services such as child care and
transportation assistance may be available to enable project
participants to participate in training.
These funds are authorized under Title III of the Job Training
Partnership Act. Participants must be dislocated or at risk of losing
their jobs.
Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua Counties, New York and Erie City and County, Warren, Crawford and Venango Counties, Pennsylvania
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$938,302
TARGET GROUP:
273 dislocated and/or incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
This project will provide training in three manufacturing cluster
occupations: Machining, Sheet Metal Fabrication and Woodworking.
An employer advisory group has been formed for each training cluster.
The project is intended to demonstrate a successful rural training
strategy through a regional approach to meeting employer and worker
needs for skills to maintain the area's industrial employers. The training
model provides for a factory setting developed in consultation with the
National Institute of Flexible Manufacturing.
CONTACT:
Dr. Adrien Adelman
Industry and Business Services Division
Private Industry Council of Chautauqua, Inc.
200 Harrison Street
Jamestown, N. Y. 14701
(716) 664-9053
GRANTEE:
Private Industry Council of Milwaukee County, Inc.
LOCATION:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$1,000,000
TARGET GROUP:
105 dislocated workers and 50 incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
The HIRE Consortium, the deliverer of dislocated worker services, is
partnering the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership to establish the
Tech Track Project. The project will focus on training for three
occupational areas in manufacturing technology in demand by
Milwaukee area employers: CNC Machining, Electronics Assembly and
Testing, and Maintenance Mechanics. TECH SPAN, a newly developed
flexible manufacturing curriculum, will be used to address the need for
just-in-time, open entry, computer-based, self-paced options for core
knowledge preparatory to technical training for advanced manufacturing
applications. In addition, a Spanish language track offering CNC
Machining training combining Spanish or bilingual instruction in
technical skills concurrent with the acquisition of English skills. The
project aims to create new linkages with manufacturing employers
mediated by the extensive labor/management cooperation arrangements
developed by the Partnership.
CONTACT:
Marjorie A. Smith
HIRE Consortium
Private Industry Council of Milwaukee
101 W. Pleasant Street
Suite 200
Milwaukee, WI 53212
(414) 385-6952
GRANTEE:
Lancaster County Career & Technology Center
LOCATION:
Berks, Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montgomery, and York Counties
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$775,947
TARGET GROUP:
320 dislocated workers and 80 incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
The project targets high performance manufacturers in the South Central
Pennsylvania region. It is built around the experience of Pepperidge
Farm's two-year development of a comprehensive, high performance
training program to prepare industrial equipment technicians and
operators. The curricula developed is correlated with the National Skill
Standards established by the National Association of Manufacturere.
Performance based instruction will be provided using equipment and
training laboratories at the plant.
CONTACT:
Dr. Michael K. Curley
Lancaster County Career and Technology Center
1730 Hans Herr Drive
Willow Street, PA 17584
(717) 464-7053
GRANTEE:
Hampden County Employment and Training Consortium
LOCATION:
Hampden County, Massachusetts
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$1,000,000
TARGET GROUP:
320 dislocated workers and 80 incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Manufacturing Training Alliance Project incorporates the key
elements of the Workforce Investment Act such as customer choice,
individual training accounts and the new Massachusetts Workforce
Training Fund initiative for incumbent workers, to provide
comprehensive manufacturing technologies training for dislocated
workers and workers who require skills upgrading to maintain existing
jobs and/or transition to a higher level, technology oriented employment
occupational training. An active and committed employer Advisory
Council has already been established to identify skill gaps of job
applicants and incumbent workers. The Council will focus on
businesses in the new Federally designated Enterprise Community.
CONTACT:
Mr. James W. Asselin
Executive Director
City of Springfield
Hampden County Employment and Training Consortium
1176 Main Street
Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 781-6900, ext 227
GRANTEE:
The Cornerstone Partnership
LOCATION:
Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$982,112
TARGET GROUP:
240 dislocated workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Cornerstone Partnership includes the Boeing Company, St. Louis County Government, St. Louis Community College, Rankin Technical
College, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers, and other organizations. The project is primarily focused on
providing services in the St. Louis Empowerment Zone at the
Partnership's state- of-the-art manufacturing equipment facility. A
multi-component curriculum will be provided to prepare participants for
manufacturing occupations in the aviation and transportation industries
and the smaller manufacturing firms supporting these industries. The
service plan includes personal mentoring, in-house student services, and
training modules designed by an alliance of experts in the field of high
tech manufacturing.
CONTACT:
Ms. M. Catherine Bunton
The Cornerstone Partnership
6347 Plymouth
St. Louis, MO 63133-1909
(314) 889-3699
GRANTEE:
Baltimore County Office of Employment and Training
LOCATION:
Baltimore County and Metropolitan Area, Maryland
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$989,900
TARGET GROUP:
120 dislocated workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Community College of Baltimore County and the Office of Employment and Training will partner with other county organizations
such as the Department of Economic Development, the Regional
Manufacturing Institute, and the Greater Baltimore Advanced
Technology Center and others to develop curriculum for a short-term,
intensive training program for dislocated workers focused on the high
tech machining needs identified skill shortages by local employers.
CONTACT:
Ms. Teresa M. Boblooch
Office of Employment and Training
1 Investment Place
Suite 409
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 887-4355
GRANTEE:
City of Cincinnati Employment and Training Division
LOCATION:
City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$989,370
TARGET GROUP:
80 dislocated and/or incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
This project represents the collaboration of the University of Cincinnati Center for Advance Manufacturing, the Employment and Training
Division, and the Industry Advisory Committee. The formal training
program will be focused on a team-based experience to solving problems
contributed by participating industries. The formal classroom and
laboratory-based training will be supplemented by industry on-site visits
to provide reality training. Focused around computer-integrated
manufacturing, participants will also have a six week industry internship
in which to refine their skills. The University Center is a state-of-the-
art $5 million manufacturing laboratory.
CONTACT:
Mr. Jerry B. Brown
Employment and Training Division
19 West Elder Street
Cincinnati, OH 45210
(513) 731-9800
GRANTEE:
Policy Research Action Group Loyola University Chicago
LOCATION:
City of Chicago; Lake, McHenry, DuPage, and Cook Counties, Illinois
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$1,000,000
TARGET GROUP:
73 dislocated and 245 incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Regional Manufacturing Training System (RTMS) is a unique collaborative of The Management Association of Illinois, The City of
Chicago Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, Jane Addams
Resource Center, Chicago Manufacturing Institute, Greater West Town
Project, and the Policy Research Action Group. The system is based on
a plan to provide basic education as well as occupational skills training
in a regional, sector-based, demand-driven approach to workforce
development. The RTMS focusses on small manufacturers who face
difficulties in recruiting and hiring a "qualified" workforce. Supportive
services for dislocated workers will be available through grants with
private foundations and Prairie State 2000 State grants (State revenue
funds for training incumbent workers) will provide additional leveraged
resources to the project.
CONTACT:
Mr. Brian Banks
Policy Research Action Group
Loyola University Chicago
820 N. Michigan
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 915-7526
GRANTEE:
Downriver Community Conference
LOCATION:
Southern Wayne County, Michigan
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$1,000,000
TARGET GROUP:
152 dislocated workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Downriver Community Conference (DCC) in collaboration with the Michigan Jobs Commission, manufacturing industry employers and the
Michigan Virtual University, will target dislocated workers from five
manufacturing companies that are closing or laying off workers. Two
occupational areas--Computer Numerically Controlled Machining (CNC)
and Computer Aided Design (CAD). The training will be delivered in a
comprehensive approach which includes classroom training, distance
learning on the Internet through Michigan Virtual University, hands-on
training and an employer internship.
CONTACT:
Mr. James S. Perry
Downriver Community Conference
15100 Northline Road
Southgate, MI 48195
(734) 281-0700
GRANTEE:
Polk County Workforce Development
LOCATION:
Polk County, Florida
FUNDING AMOUNT:
$895,872
TARGET GROUP:
250 dislocated workers and 350 incumbent workers
SYNOPSIS:
The Central Florida Dislocated Worker Manufacturing Technology Demonstration Project was developed in collaboration with the
participating companies, the Lakeland Economic Development Council,
the Central Florida Development Council, the City of Lakeland, and
Polk Workforce Development. The project targets three groups of
dislocated workers: former citrus and phosphate mining workers;
workers with manufacturing and warehouse experience, and workers
from the service and transportation industries. Similarly, the incumbent
workers to whom project services will be directed are primarily
manufacturing workers from the food, metal extrusion, chemical
production and electric generation industries. The project will develop or
upgrade the manufacturing technology skills identified by the National
Skill Standards Board (NSSB) and test their transferability among a
number of different manufacturing employment settings. Certification
will be provided to trainees achieving specific NSSB skills and their
certification will be listed with the State Employment Service. The One-Stop Career Center system will be responsible for recruitment and
eligibility of dislocated workers as well as job placement. The training
provided by Polk Community College and Traviss Technical Center will
be conducted concurrently to incumbent and dislocated workers to
reduce program costs and will provide a comparison of skill acquisition.
A combination of training methods will be used--classroom and on-the-job (experiential).
CONTACT:
Mr. Susan Clayton
Polk County Workforce Development
205 E. Main Street, Suite 107
Bartow, FL 33830
(941) 519-0100, ext. 21
