College Secures SUNY Grants for Training at Local Organizations

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Over 300 employees at 11 local organizations have been able to upgrade their skills and improve their job performance, thanks to $92,500 worth of grants the College secured from the SUNY Community College Workforce Development Training program. The competitive grants are designed to provide workforce development training programs that support the creation and retention of employment opportunities in the state and local community. The training for the local organizations was done by BIZ, Tompkins Cortland’s home for continuing education and workforce development. BIZ offers training programs both for individuals seeking to develop skills and for companies seeking customized training solutions in a variety of areas, including manufacturing, leadership, technology, and customer service.

The College has received SUNY Workforce Development Grants to help local businesses for the last 15 years. During that time, the College has secured more than $1.17 million in SUNY Workforce Development grants for local employers, helping thousands of local workers. This year’s grant total is the largest secured by the College in five years.

To secure the grants, Director of Continuing Education and Workforce Development Carrie Whitmore worked with local organizations to design training programs that addressed critical business needs. "This is one of the ways we can work with organizations in the community,” said Whitmore. “Working together, we identify skill gaps and determine needs, and then customize training programs to address those needs. These SUNY grants provide part of the total costs for the training, meaning the workers get the education needed for the organization to thrive, and at a fraction of what it normally would cost. The SUNY Workforce Grants help these organizations remain vital in our community."

The 11 recipients of grant-funded training; organization’s location; and name of the training provided: 
•    Transonic Engineers; Ithaca; Software Training
•    First National Bank of Dryden; Cortland, Dryden, and Homer; Upskilling for all Employees
•    YWCA of Cortland; Cortland; Supervisory Development for Senior Staff
•    Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services; Trumansburg; Embracing Differences
•    CAPCO; Cortland; Managing Decisive Dialogues
•    Intertek; Cortland; Supervisory Development
•    BorgWarner; Ithaca; Problem Solving for Production Workers
•    KIK Marietta; Cortland; Skill Development for Increased Productivity
•    Racker; Cortland, Ithaca, and Owego; Communication through American Sign Language for Residential Program Staff
•    Q2; Ithaca; Communication and Employee Engagement Series
•    Stork H&E; Danby; GDT Training for Engineers and Quality Control

More information on customized training, non-credit professional development workshops, and grant funding is available by contacting Biz at 607.844.6586 or biz@tompkinscortland.edu.