Center for Corporate and Professional Education to offer free workshops on available training funds for employers

Filed Under: Other News

Employers, especially small business owners, routinely find themselves in the difficult position of trying to fill the gap between an employee’s skills and those truly needed by the company, yet there are no training funds in the budget to do so. Massachusetts has allocated significant dollars to actually fill that gap, and The Center for Corporate and Professional Education (CCAPE) at Cape Cod Community College has expert staff ready to help local employers access those funds.
Tammi Jacobsen, Director of Workforce Development and Training, for CCAPE, noted, “We are seeing an ever increasing need of employers for training and professional development to help fill the skills gaps within their current staff and be much more successful in such a tight labor market. To encourage the regions’ employers to tap into available funding sources, CCAPE is hosting two free information sessions on the Workforce Training Fund Programs. The first will be February 13th in Wareham, and the second will be April 11th in Orleans.”
Michelle Constantino, Employer Relations Manager, for CCAPE, is personally involved in helping business owners access funds and build up their employees’ skills.
“These funds come at no cost to the employer. Investing in your employees is a powerful way to increase efficiency, expand into new markets, and boost profitability.  We (The Center for Corporate and Professional Education) strongly encourage employers – large and small – to attend one of the two no-cost information-packed sessions, either in Wareham or Orleans, to learn how to tap into the expansive Workforce Training Fund Programs that can underwrite the costs of upgrading employee skill sets,” she explained.
Employers may choose the date and location most convenient for them.
Date: Tuesday, February 13th; 8:30–10:30am
Location: Lindsey’s Restaurant, 3138 Cranberry Hwy, E. Wareham
Date: Wednesday, April 11th; 1:00–3:00pm
Location: Old Firehouse Gallery, 44 Main Street, Orleans
Participants are asked to choose a location, and then register at this web address: http://workforcetrainingfund.org/events. The events are free. Registration is asked only so that adequate space and refreshments are reserved.
Funds for customized contract training and skills updating are almost always available to meet a specific need. Most often dollars go unspent because no one applied to use them. In partnership with CCAPE, local employers have obtained more than $400,000 in grant-supported training over the last two years. These grants have addressed very specific company needs, from entry level to executive level workforce development. CCAPE’s multi-faceted approach has helped shift corporate culture and encourage staff to embrace newly learned skills. The result is economic growth across the region.
The availability of high-quality, accessible training has made a big difference to numerous employers in the region. For Nauset Disposal of Orleans, it’s meant real growth, according to Operations Manager, Tim Delude.
“By taking advantage of the many training options, including classes at the Hyannis Center and conducting sessions on-site at our facility, I have been able to give employees the opportunity to advance their careers and support the success of Nauset Disposal. A big change I’ve noticed is that communication, both internally and with our customers, has improved.  We are retaining our best employees.  And the increase in our team members’ productivity will no doubt enable our small business to continue to grow and succeed for a long time to come, he stated.”
Victoria DelPonte, Human Resource Manager of Snows Home and Garden in Orleans, had a very similar story to tell.
“We were completely blown away by the quality of training provided.  We worked with CCAPE to provide an on-site computer training class that helped build our employees’ confidence, and ability to use our new program for ordering our customers’ custom orders…They walked us through all the steps, including funding options, and we will continue to work with them as we have new and on-going training needs,” she explained.
More information on the upcoming information sessions, and about addressing specific training needs for individuals and entire workforces, can be found at: www.capecod.edu/CCAPE, or by speaking with Tammi Jacobsen or Michelle Constantino through their office’s main number: 1-508-375-5010.