Press Release

October 17, 2003

Grant to Help Manufacturing and Technology Companies Upgrade Employee Skills

BOTHELL, WA
Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology (PSCTLT) announced today that it has received a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant will help Puget Sound-based manufacturing and technology companies upgrade the skills of their current employees. Many of these companies are yet to be identified and inquiries about corporate participation are invited.

PSCTLT's Future-Ready Workforce Project (FRWP), in partnership with Washington Manufacturing Services, will provide training in "Lean Systems" to incumbent employees of four to eight manufacturing companies. This portion of the project is aimed primarily at manufacturers who are suppliers of The Boeing Company. Lean Systems is a manufacturing philosophy that focuses on activities that eliminate waste and add value for the customer.

FRWP also will offer information technology (IT) training to four to eight small to mid-size companies from a variety of business sectors. The types of IT training will vary based on the needs of each company.

The Future-Ready Workforce Project has two goals: (1) to help employees develop job skills that will enable them to retain their jobs and increase their earnings potential, and (2) to help companies increase their efficiency and productivity, ultimately making them more competitive.

Data gathered throughout the project will provide information to policy makers and administrators of workforce development programs about effective techniques and strategies for training workers in manufacturing and other industries.

The project will build on the foundation laid by PSCTL’s first Future-Ready Workforce Project demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, which successfully helped four Puget Sound-based companies improve their manufacturing processes. This initial effort and the current effort are conducted in partnership with Washington Manufacturing Services, the King and Snohomish County Workforce Development Councils, the King and Snohomish County Economic Development Councils, local community colleges, and other Department of Labor grantees in the region, such as RATEC.

Puget Sound Center is a private, non-profit information technology training and teacher professional development organization located in the Canyon Park Business Center in Bothell.