WEDnetPA grants for workforce training are available

Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development Division is inviting businesses in Montgomery County to apply for grants that can help provide training for their employees. The grants are available through the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA).

WEDnetPA is a state training reimbursement grant program. As one of the state’s 22 partners for the program, Montgomery County Community College administers and distributes funding to Montgomery County companies to help them with the costs of workforce training.

Last year, the administered more than $450,000 of WEDnetPA funding, helping 33 companies and training nearly 500 employees, according to a press release.

WEDnetPA partners are located throughout Pennsylvania, giving companies a focal point to assist throughout the process — from completing an application to submitting invoices for reimbursement. WEDnetPA partners can also serve as a potential training provider. Reading Area Community College, Kutztown University and Delaware County Community College are also WEDnetPA partners.

According to the WEDnetPA website, to be eligible for a grant, companies must be located in Pennsylvania and part of eligible industry clusters; and they cannot receive funding more than two years in a row or three years out of any five-year period. In addition, companies with an employee turnover rate of 25% or more may not be eligible.

Nonprofit organizations, brick and mortar retail businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, gaming establishments and direct marijuana businesses are not eligible for funding.

For employees to qualify, they must be residents of and permanently employed in Pennsylvania on a full-time basis. In addition, they must earn at least $12 per hour and be employed by the specific company location for which a grant is awarded. Training programs, according to Bernadette DeBias, Montgomery County Community College’s director of workforce development, should start after July 1, 2023, and be completed before June 30, 2024.

The programs should involve skill building for current jobs or advancement. Employers pay for the cost of training upfront and are reimbursed at completion. Companies can choose their WEDnetPA partner and the training vendors, according to the release.

Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development and Economic Division works with companies to develop customized training that is specifically designed to meet their goals, helping them to grow and increase their competitive advantage.

Some examples of customized training the college has provided includes: OSHA 10 training at several manufacturing facilities; customized Lean manufacturing training; leadership training for senior managers and new functional managers; Excel training; Microsoft Office and Teams training; and strategic alignment and visioning.

“We worked with MCCC to deliver lean training, which was a relatively new concept to our employees,” Clark Dhein, president of MacKissic Inc., said in a statement. “Prior to the training, we had an absentee issue. After the training, employees are more engaged and aligned as a team. We are focused on value add to our customer. We have daily meetings, employees are engaged and aligned, work in a safer environment and our attendance problem is gone.”

To apply for WEDnetPA funding grants, companies should submit applications now for the new fiscal year. Companies can submit training plans for the entire fiscal year, through June 30, 2024, DeBias said.

Montgomery County businesses looking to learn more about WEDnetPA funding grants in Montgomery County and to get started with the application process, can contact Bernadette DeBias (bdebias@mc3.edu) or Katina Faulk (kfaulk@mc3.edu) to discuss eligibility, process, and training plans.