WIB Receives Funding for Manufacturing Training

December 13, 2010

The Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County (WIB) announced last week the awarding of $115,000 to fund training for employees of manufacturing companies in Tulare County.  The training will be in several areas, including technology, leadership, communications, and sanitary procedures.

“The manufacturing sector in Tulare County offers great economic impacts for the region,” said Adam Peck, Executive Director of the WIB.  “We are very pleased to be able to assist these companies by improving their existing workforce.”

The bulk of the funding will go towards training in Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), which controls the machinery used in manufacturing plants.  The PLC training will consist of introductory, intermediate and advanced classes.  Other courses will cover management and leadership, industrial painting, written communications, and sanitary procedures for dairy processing.

The funding will come from the State of California Employment Training Panel (ETP), a division of the Employment Development Department.  A portion of the unemployment insurance payments businesses make goes toward funding the ETP program. 

“The need for PLC training keeps coming up in our meetings with manufacturers,” said Sandi Miller, Program Coordinator of the WIB Business Services division.  “The technology is advancing faster than our workforce can keep up with, and we expect a lot of companies to participate in the training.”

For more information on the training, of any WIB business services, call 559/713-5200, or email info@tularewib.org.