State grant to train local employees

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The applicant group just received official word: The state approved its request for a Workforce Advancement Training Grant of $24,140 to train about 95 Minnesota Rubber and Plastics employees in quality management.

Chippewa Valley Technical College, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, UW Stout and MRP collaborated to apply for the grant.

MRP produces custom-molded plastics and rubber parts and has been in River Falls Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park for about 12 years. Last fall it began a 10,000-square-foot expansion of of its building.

Focused on producing medical and high-performance parts, MRP needs employees with highly-specialized quality, efficiency and process training. One example of where they’ll be needed is inside a clean room the expanded facility will include.

Manager of CVTC’s Campus in River Falls Leslie Bleskachek this kind of training usually comes as an elective class in a degree plan. It isn’t normally offered as individual training.

Bleskacheck said new skills will enable current employees to flex and/or move into better-paying positions. She said the grant will eventually act as an economic stimulus by giving local workers more money to spend.

Get more details about the WATG grant in the March 6 edition of the River Falls Journal.

Tags: cvtc, grant, minnesota, rubber, plastics