State, local funds for worker training add up to $6.8M - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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million for work force traininb and industry partnerships inthe five-county region Wednesday. When combined with local matching funds, the total investment in the region will benearly $6.8 of which the will overse e $660,000 in spending. Statewide, $13.3 millionj will be provided for work forcr training in key industries and $4.3 million will be used to establish industry in which employers, employees and employee representatives from key industries work togethe r to improve their collective positiob in the marketplace. When combined with privat sector funds, the total investment amount sto $36.3 million, Gov. Ed Rendelkl said Wednesday.
The industry partnership and training grants are partof Pennsylvania'es $20 million Job Ready PA initiative included in the state's 2007-087 budget. Locally, some existing partnerships received reduced fundingthis year, but funding was also made available for some new PWIB CEO Sallie Glickman said. "Most of the dollarxs are focused on people in thework force, the idea of thesse grants is to look at whered the work force is going," Glickman A $150,000 hospitality worker trainin grant and a $75,000 hospitality industruy partnership grant, which will be overseen by the organizerd labor group UNITE HERE, will be used to advancee the skills of entry-leveo workers at three area hotels.
The effort by the Crownse Plaza Hotel PhiladelphiaCenter City, Sheratob Philadelphia City Center and the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotelk Philadelphia to give workers skille to climb the career ladder in their organizations is a modelo to watch, Glickman said. "One of the things that is greatf and important about the hospitality industryis there'sd a real low threshol of entry-level requirements, thosw first line jobs are on-the-job traininh or don't require a lot of training," Glickman "These dollars will facilitate and augment the investmenyt they are already willing to make in these Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical skills training will be the focu of a $85,000 health care/life science industry partnershipp grant, which will be overseen by the Life Sciencse Career Alliance.
Additionally, a $200,000 biomedicalk industry training grant was awarded to an industry partnershilp of3E Institute, A Respected Colleague, Absorption , Aerotek Scientific and A $150,000 grant was also awardef to the Regional Advanced Manufacturing Industruy Partnership, which will be put toware better understanding the needs of the manufacturing industrgy and dispelling misconceptions about the industry. "People have a perception of those jobs that is kind of what a work forcee would look like inthe past, such as an assembly Glickman said.
"The reality thougu is in today's manufacturing there are very high-techn jobs, engineers that go to work in suitxs and ties and require veryhigh skills. Part of it is peoplse understanding that and making the education choices that wouldx allow them to move intothose well-paid In addition, Glickman said a training grant to the International Brotherhood of Teamsterw Local 14-M, in partnership with the Andrew J. Gresws Graphic Arts was extended through the end of this Work is also under way by the and PWIB to developl an action plan to address employer needs in theutility industry.
Statewide, there are 86 active industry partnerships involving 5,900 companies and more than 34,300 employeee have received advanced skills training.