The Metro Skills Training & Employment Partnership, referred to as the Metro STEP grant, will provide $1,019,186 to fund work readiness, tuition reimbursement and on-the-job training programs for approximately 190 job seekers in Southwest Washington. The second grant, the Metro In-Sourcing Training Initiative, or MISTI, will provide $1,469,537 to fund training/industry certification and internships for 475 job seekers and 1,000 existing employees to support career advancement opportunities, the SWWDC said. Both grants, which will span a four-year period from the summer of 2012 to 2015, will target occupations such as computer programmers, software engineers and system administrators in the IT industry, and electrical and mechanical engineers, production managers and quality technicians in the advanced manufacturing industry.
“Finding, retaining, and growing workforce talent remains a priority for businesses looking to increase their competitive advantage in today’s market,” said Jeanne Bennett, executive director of the SWWDC, in a press release. “Both Clark and Cowlitz Counties have recently undertaken economic development strategies that center on targeted industry cluster development. A critical factor in economic success is for a community to be able to attract the necessary talent to support targeted industries, and more importantly, have the ability to grow talent from the existing labor pool.”
Local job seekers with interest or experience in technical positions in IT and advanced manufacturing who would like to receive training are asked to contact WorkSource at 360.735.5089 or via email at businessservices@esd.wa.gov.
