The United Way of Butler County and the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board were recently awarded a $50,000 capacity-building grant from the Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions, to launch a pilot program working collaboratively with local manufacturers, trades and human service agencies. The program seeks to identify lower skilled and low income individuals either unemployed or underemployed who have the potential and desire to succeed in manufacturing and provide the training, certifications and most importantly support throughout an interview and hiring process.
Central to the collaborative learning process will be the collection, analysis, and presentation of best practices in recruitment and retention for the region. Much of this information will be gathered through on-line employer surveys that will be distributed by the Manufacturing Industry Partnership, CareerLink, Chamber of Commerce and Butler Human Resources Association. The results will be analyzed, presented, and made available free to interested manufacturers and employers. An additional outcome will be the development of tool kits for community based agencies that will help them identify potential program candidates while providing supports for success in the manufacturing and trades.
The groups have assembled a team of both manufacturers and community agencies who are working through design and implementation of the program and are optimistic about what they are already learning about each other’s goals and needs, and at the prospect of being able to provide the proper supports to clients and employees. Often things like transportation or child care can make or break an employee’s ability to be successful in their position. Along with United Way and the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, key partners include the Tri-County Manufacturing Consortium, Butler County CareerLink, Butler County Chamber of Commerce, Butler Human Resources Association, Butler County Community College, the Learning Institute for Growth in Technology (L.I.G.H.T.), a division of Penn United Technologies Inc., Center for Community Resources, Housing Authority of Butler County, Butler County Children’s Center and CCIS, the Lighthouse, and others.
Private and public funders from across the state joined forces to create The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions, which blends investments (more than $3 million to date) from private and public funders to support the goal of increasing opportunities for lower-skilled workers through grant making, capacity building, and advocacy efforts within the state’s Targeted Industry Clusters.