With a grant from LISC, Community Action Duluth, the Arrowhead Manufacturers and Fabricators Association (AMFA) and Dale Carnegie Training have partnered to bridge the gap for underemployed workers in the Arrowhead region by providing a skills pathway and direct connection to local jobs in the light manufacturing trades.
The program, called Arrowhead Manufacturers Training Program, is a no cost, all age, and all skill level educational program which over four weeks covers hard skills, soft skills, and finishes with financial and employment coaching. The initiative has two key goals: Filling high-value, persistently hard-to-hire positions for local manufacturing businesses and preparing workers to succeed in a valuable career in the industrial trades.
“With our region and the U.S. at large facing severe skilled worker shortages, especially in the manufacturing sector, it is more crucial than ever that programs like this exist,” comments Ian Vincent, Senior Business Developer at APEX. “This program provides unemployed and underemployed citizens who may have barriers to entry or feel stuck in a minimum wage job an educational baseline and a direct pathway to a lifelong and family sustaining career with local growing manufacturing companies.”
The hard skills portion will allow participants to become familiar with a typical shop layout and duties including equipment setup, safety procedures, measurement systems, as well as various checkpoints and inspections. The soft skills portion will work to improve students’ professional qualities such as memorization, communication, confidence, empathy, listening, time management, and critical thinking. Finally, students will be paired with a coach to create goals for long-term career and financial stability and will receive support building resumes, completing applications, and preparing for interviews.
The program begins with an employability measurement screening by Community Action Duluth that will determine eligibility and help ensure that candidates can address personal and social barriers throughout their academic and career path. Light industrial manufacturing jobs are typically defined as manufacturing, assembling, and processing materials that are already in a refined form. These factory or mill jobs create new products or produce parts from raw materials or components.
When: April 16, 17, 18, 22, 24, 29, 30, and May 1 & 2. All Sessions take place from 5:30pm-8:30pm.
Location: Community Action Duluth (*with free on-site childcare): 2424 West 5th Street Suite 102 Duluth, MN
Those interested in taking the course contact: Karen St. George, karenS@communityactionduluth.org 218-726-1665 X 213
Those interested in aiding programing and/or recruiting graduates contact:
Dan Larson at Hydrosolutions, dan@hydrosolutionsofduluth.com 218-722-7001
About the Partners:
APEX is the private-sector-led business development engine for Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. APEX business and economic development efforts focus on areas including aviation, technology, manufacturing, professional services and next generation forest products. Since 2003, the organization has impacted over 4,300 jobs in the region, resulting in a regional payroll of over $174.9 million and contributing to over $24 million annually in state and local taxes.
Arrowhead Manufacturers and Fabricators Association (AMFA) was founded in 1997 to help strengthen and grow the manufacturing and fabrication industries in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. Membership consists of manufacturers, fabricators, suppliers, educators, government agencies, and more.
Dale Carnegie Training is a global training company which has grown from one man’s belief in the power of self-improvement to offices in 90 countries and all 50 states. Dale Carnegie has produced more than eight million graduates in 25 languages worldwide and programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET).
Community Action Duluth is a non-profit organization that exists to empower and engage the local community to eliminate poverty and create prosperity and equity in the lives of the people they serve.