ETA News Release: [October 20, 2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post or Ed Frank
Phone Number: 202-693-3984 or 202-693-4658
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces $1.3 Million Grant to Train Pennsylvania Workers for Careers in Advanced Manufacturing
Grant Is Part of $24.2 Million Advanced Manufacturing Initiative
LANCASTER, Pa. - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of more than $1.3 million to train Pennsylvania workers for careers in advanced manufacturing. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco was in Pennsylvania to present the award to the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board. The grant is part of a $24.2 million advanced manufacturing effort under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative.
"Success in 21st century manufacturing increasingly depends on effectively using new technologies," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This grant will help equip Pennsylvania workers with the skills and knowledge they need to harness those technologies and succeed in the worldwide economy."
Using the grant and working with leading consortia in the state, the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board will train more than 200 workers in a wide variety of advanced manufacturing disciplines. The four consortia include seven workforce investment boards and over 125 companies.
The Lumber and Wood Consortium in Lancaster County will provide training to support a career ladder to master finisher, the highest paid production worker in this sector; the Food Processing Consortium in South Central Pennsylvania will work with local community colleges to implement an advanced robotics curriculum; the Plastics Consortium in Central Pennsylvania will partner with local colleges and universities to develop a standard plastics manufacturing curriculum, and the Powdered Metals Consortium in the western part of the state will develop skills standards and curriculum to train incumbent and new workers in plastics and metal fabrication.
In presenting the award, DeRocco said, "Planning ahead for the future of Pennsylvania's manufacturing sector translates into keeping jobs in Pennsylvania. The partnerships already created among industry leaders, educators and the public workforce investment system ensure the success of this project which will be a model for training programs throughout the country."
The President's High Growth Job Training Initiative is a strategic effort to better prepare workers to take advantage of new job opportunities in high growth sectors of the American economy. Through executive forums with leaders of expanding industries, critical workforce gaps and issues are identified. Solutions are then created in cooperation with employers, educational institutions and the public workforce system. For more information, visit www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/.
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