Businesses are facing a tremendous problem right now and manufacturing companies have not been spared: finding and retaining good, solid workers. Companies are working through ways to combat this issue. For example, some employers are revising their drug and alcohol testing policies, as I explored in a previous newsletter. Others are coming up with different strategies and incentives for employees to combat the shifting job market.
However, there are many under-utilized resources for Minnesota manufacturers right in our backyard. As a firm that has represented manufacturers throughout the years, we have found that training programs through the Minnesota Jobs Skill Partnership (MJSP) have tremendously helped manufacturing companies and their employees to retrain manufacturing workers and expand work opportunities for potential employees.
The goal of the MJSP is to target short-term training for full-time employment in the growth sectors of the state’s economy, such as manufacturing.
BELOW ARE A FEW OF THE DEED TRAINING GRANT PROGRAMS THAT THE STATE PROVIDES WITH LINKS AND A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW THESE PROGRAMS COULD HELP YOUR MANUFACTURING BUSINESS.
- Partnership Program – provides grants of up to $400,000 to businesses that partner with a Minnesota educational institution to develop new-job training or retraining for existing employees.
- Pathways Program – provides grants of up to $400,000 to businesses that partner with a Minnesota educational institution or nonprofit organization to provide training, new jobs, and career paths for low-income people.
- Job Training Incentive Program – provides training grants of up to $200,000 to new or expanding businesses located in Greater Minnesota.
- Low-Income Worker Training Program – provides grants of up to $200,000 to public, private, or nonprofit entities to help low-income people gain new skills necessary to move up the career ladder to higher-paying jobs and greater economic self-sufficiency.
- Automation Training Incentive Program – provides grants of up to $35,000 are available to small businesses in the manufacturing or skilled production industry for the express purpose of training incumbent workers as quickly and effectively as possible on new automation technology.
If you have questions or are interested in discussing how these programs could work for you and your manufacturing business, I would be happy to speak with you and discuss how this can become part of your employee retention strategy. I can be reached at james.seifert@fmjlaw.com or 952-995-9500.
Related Attorneys
