Contact:
Anne Lupardus, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
$300,000 in Funding will Train 1,700 Workers Throughout Wisconsin
NEENAH – Governor Jim Doyle today announced a Wisconsin Technical College System Workforce Advancement Training Grant award of $63,750 to Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), TIDI Products, and Worthington Cylinders.
Today’s announcement at TIDI Products is part of nearly $300,000 in Workforce Advancement Training grants from the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) that will be used to train 1,700 workers throughout Wisconsin. Governor Doyle allocated $1 million for each year of the biennium for WTCS to use for worker training grants – $700,000 of which was announced in November 2005.
“In today’s global economy, the competition is across the ocean, not just across the country or state lines,” Governor Doyle said. “These grants enable businesses to take advantage of the world-class training opportunities provided by Wisconsin’s great technical colleges and help ensure that Wisconsin continues to have a highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce that’s producing the best quality products.”
The Workforce Advancement Training grants were awarded to technical colleges throughout the state to work in collaboration with local businesses with the goal of increasing the knowledge and skills of the Wisconsin workforce. The purpose of the WTCS Workforce Advancement Training grants is to promote increased investment in the development of incumbent workers. Grant funding will help Wisconsin employees upgrade their skills and productivity, providing improved job security, increased career opportunities, and support for regional workforce and economic development efforts.
“This is a great investment in Wisconsin’s workforce, because upgrading the knowledge and skills of individuals who are already on the job is key to keeping Wisconsin businesses and residents productive and prosperous,” President of the Wisconsin Technical College System Dan Clancy said. “The technical colleges are really excited to have this new opportunity, which goes a long way toward our mission of maintaining a globally competitive workforce.”
“My Administration has focused on lifting our entire economy up to compete at the high end,” Governor Doyle said. “Moving forward, we’re going to keep capitalizing on our strengths – excellent schools, universities, and technical colleges, a legacy of innovation, a commitment to quality, and a workforce that’s second-to-none.”
A breakdown of the grant awards is as follows:
+ Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) received $29,388 to train 106 PDM Bridge employees.
+ Gateway Technical College (GTC) will train 50 Specialty Tapes employees.
+ Mid-State Technical College (MSTC) received $7,344 to train 30 Felker Brothers employees.
+ Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) received $32,326 to train 40 employees.
+ Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) received $65,385 to work with Alliance Laundry Systems LLC and Giddings & Lewis Design. MPTC will train 426 employees.
+ Nicolet Area Technical College is receiving $9,152 to train 50 employees of Peterson Health Care of Wisconsin.
+ Northcentral Technical College (NTC) is receiving $9,949 to train 40 Regal-Beloit Corporation and Marathon Electric Manufacturing Company employees. NTC will also train 138 employees of Price Co. Manufacturing and 65 employees of Schuette Metals Corporation.
+ Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is receiving $8,427 to train 128 Bay Towel employees.
+ Waukesha County Technical College is receiving $40,000 to train 274 InPro Corporation employees.
+ Western Wisconsin Technical College is receiving $21,979 to train 47 Centurytel employees.
