Training & Workforce Options Helps Secure Funds to Train Workers at Two Companies
SPRINGFIELD — Training & Workforce Options (TWO) helped obtain grants to train workers at Savage Arms in Westfield and Conklin Office Furniture in Holyoke.
In March, the Baker-Polito administration announced the awarding of $7.48 million in Workforce Training Fund Program grants that will fund training for almost 6,000 workers and is expected to create more than 1,100 new jobs in the Commonwealth over the next two years.
The awarded grants included $238,485 for customized training for 67 workers at Savage Arms and $48,820 to train 72 workers at Conklin Office Furniture.
The training at Savage Arms will help workers learn to operate computer numerical control (CNC) machines. The grant also includes training in English as a second language. The company expects to add 54 new jobs by 2021.
The grant for Conklin Office Furniture will pay for the training of 72 workers in a range of skills, from customer service and team building to sales and leadership.
“We are thrilled to help area companies provide training for their employees’ professional growth,” said Tracye Whitfield, director of Business Development at TWO, adding that “TWO assisted the businesses in writing the grants and will offer customized training for the employees.”
The Workforce Training Fund, a program of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, is administered by Commonwealth Corp., a quasi-public state agency that fosters partnerships between industry, education, and workforce organizations.
The Workforce Training Fund provides general program grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 to companies in Massachusetts to pay for employee training over a two-year period. Grant recipients contribute a matching investment of at least one dollar for each grant dollar awarded, with wages paid to trainees during training hours included in that investment.
To learn more about how TWO can help your business, contact Whitfield at (413) 221-4443 or [email protected].
