Richland College, Texas Workforce Commission and Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association representatives participated in a check-signing ceremony Aug. 2 at Richland College Garland Campus.
Richland College was awarded a $705,439 Skills Development Fund grant by the Texas Workforce Commission to train 321 incumbent employees upgraded to new jobs and 32 new hires in essential industry-specific knowledge and skills. The grant will provide 13,649 training hours for seven Dallas County manufacturing companies to include Epiroc Drilling Solutions, LLC; Barnsco; Erect-A-Line; Brill, a CSM Bakery Solutions Company; Garrett Metal Detectors; Micropac Industries, Inc.; and Milano Hat Company.
Four of the partnering businesses are new SDF grant partners, and the other three businesses recently became re-eligible for funding after completing successful training programs through prior SDF grants.
The training provided under this grant will be completed during a 15-month period beginning Aug. 31, with the goal of improving processes and bridging technology and leadership skills gaps for the participating employers.
“We have gathered this afternoon to acknowledge our appreciation of the important industry training impact this $705,439 Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development Fund grant is making possible through Richland College Garland Campus, where a dynamic tri-partnership continues to flourish among the Garland Chamber of Commerce, the Dallas County Manufacturers’ Association and Richland College Garland Campus,” said Richland College president Kathryn K. Eggleston, addressing the audience at the event. “This grant enables our triad to advance and expand both technical and non-technical training to employees at seven Garland and regional area manufacturing companies, continuing to leverage our capabilities to grow the economic base of Garland’s manufacturing sector businesses and contributing to a skilled Texas workforce and beyond.”
Ruth R. Hughs, TWC chair and commissioner representing employers of Texas, spoke about the partnership with DCMA and Richland College’s role in providing training to Garland and other north Texas-area businesses through previous SDF grants.
“[The Skills Development Fund program] really is our premiere job training program because it allows employers to get that customized curriculum to meet their needs, and it allows workers an opportunity to really expand their skillset and be able to be more competitive in the marketplace and be better employees,” said Hughs. “We find time and again that when the employers invest in their employees in these ways, the employees invest back, and you really do get a better-quality employee and you create a culture that everybody wants to be a part of.”
Micropac Industries, Inc., has previously received training from Richland College through an SDF grant. Chairman and CEO Mark King spoke about real-life results from this training, including last year when Lockheed required Micropac operators to have an IPC-A-610 certification to build optical sensors for missiles. To execute the contract successfully for the sensors and build them to Lockheed’s standards, 14 people went through IPC-A-610 previous SDF grant-funded training with Richland College, and all employees successfully passed the certification exam. As a direct result of this training, Micropac soon will be signing another contract with Lockheed.
Garland Chamber of Commerce and DCMA CEO Paul Mayer discussed how the chamber’s partnership with Richland College, along with the creation of the DCMA to meet the specific needs of manufacturers, has benefited not just area employers, but the City of Garland and its residents, including the creation of the Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center, where advanced-level career and technical education courses are provided to Garland Independent School District students.
“The city recognizes it in terms of how we build infrastructure, how we build housing, how we build all the things that industry needs,” said Mayer.
The SDF program at Richland College Garland Campus provides customized job-training programs for businesses who want to train new workers or upgrade the skills of their existing workforce. The program is a partnership among Richland College Garland Campus, TWC and community business partners. For additional information about the Skills Development Fund program, visit https://www.richlandcollege.edu/aboutrlc/garland-campus/pages/skills-development-fund.aspx.
Photo by Sebrina Patterson.