The emphasis on logistics training is another way Montgomery County is strengthening its existing workforce — a point that was brought up in a study released last year by St. Onge, a York, Penn-based supply chain consultant who helps companies find locations to put their businesses in, according to officials.
“As we started to see more and more companies coming into the Dayton area, we have known for decades, when Interstates 70 and 75 were constructed, that we were in a great location — Crossroads of North America, etc.,” said Erik Collins, director of Montgomery County’s Community and Economic Development office. “We knew as a community that we needed to be even more strategically focused in terms of what are the real opportunities to support manufacturing logistics distribution.”
County officials, the Department of Job & Family Services Workforce Development and the Miami Valley Career Technology Center worked together to create the training program. The program focuses on the logistics industry, including jobs in material handling, supply chain, IT, and transportation.
“We want to try and build a logistics, transportation, warehouse distribution ecoystem,” Collins said.
The Logistics/Distribution Training Program idea came after the county became aware of several companies who were having a hard time finding employees, said Mark Anderson, workforce marketing coordinator for the county’s Department of Job & Family Services Workforce Development.
The Job Center encouraged those companies to work with the career center.
“We helped promote to our databases of people who are unemployed or displaced workers,” Anderson said. “We want to help that group find employment through training initiatives.”
Those who complete the program will receive a Manufacturing Skills Standards Certificate and Fork Lift certification, which enhances their qualifications within the Logistics Industry, Anderson said.
Those who complete the latest trainingwill be guaranteed an interview with one or more of the following companies — Exel, Payless, Caterpillar Logistics and Meijer, said Amy Leedy, supervisor of Adult Education at Miami Valley CTC.
The county will pay for training for someone who is eligible for federal Work investment Act funds or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). “The purpose of the WIA program is to enhance self-sufficiency by assisting participants in obtaining credentials through short or long term training programs,” Anderson said.
If they are not eligible for the funding, individuals can pay approximately $1,000 of their own money to get the training, according to Leedy.
Those interested in signing up for the program should contact the Job Center at 937-225-5052 or sign-up online at www.thejobcenter.org.
About the Author