The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity announced Friday that they are awarding more than $667,000 to 17 local employers to help fund training opportunities for more than 500 workers.
According to Michigan Works! West Central, the funds are being awarded through the Going PRO Talent Fund, which is a competitive funding program that can help employers train, develop, and retrain current and new employees.
They say the training plans approved by the state must be short-term and fill a demonstrated talent need experienced by the employer. It also must lead to a transferrable, industry-recognized credential.
This comes after companies applied for funding this fall with help from Michigan Works! West Central’s Business Services Team. They say training at those who received funds is expected to start at early as Jan. 1, 2022.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Going PRO Talent Fund plays a vital role in helping employers train, retain and hire new employees. By providing them with industry-recognized training opportunities, these 17 employers will be better situated to navigate the future workforce landscape,” said Shelly Keene, Michigan Works! West Central executive director. “The Talent Fund is an investment in Michigan’s workforce helping provide the critical skills necessary for a wide variety of in-demand jobs across our region. I applaud our Business Services Team for all of their hard work during the application period and congratulate our award winners.”
Across Michigan, $40 million is being awarded through the program to train approximately 30,000 workers. In Michigan Works! West Central’s six-county jurisdiction, which includes Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Newaygo, Oceana and Osceola Counties, 28 applications were submitted in Oct., totaling $1,024,521 in training funding requests.
Seventeen of those applications were approved, totaling $677,041 to upskill 515 people, including 12 new U.S. Department of Labor registered apprentices.
Below are the companies who are being awarded funds to train their workforces:
- Lake County
- Family Health Care
- Stealthcraft Boats
- Mason County
- The Brill Company
- Change Parts Inc.
- Great Lakes Castings LLC
- Medilodge of Ludington
- ServePro of Scottville
- Superior Exteriors
- UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries
- Mecosta County
- Leprino Foods
- Newaygo County
- Magna Mirrors Newaygo
- Nestle – Gerber Products
- Oceana County
- Michigan Freeze Pack
- Osceola County
- Northern Precision Products
- Papa’s Place Adult Day Care
- Reed City Group
- Yoplait/General Mills
The Going PRO Talent Fund began in 2014. In its first seven years, Michigan Works! West Central helped secure more than $2.9 million to train more than 2,700 workers at more than 50 different companies in their service area. Of those 2,600 plus workers, 76 were new U.S. Department of Labor registered apprentices.
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