Montgomery County Community College: WEDnetPA Grants For Workforce Training Are Available Now

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Diane VanDyke

July 26, 2021

Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development Division encourages eligible Montgomery County companies to apply for WEDnetPA funding
for the new fiscal year which began July 1, 2021.

WEDnetPA is a state training reimbursement grant program where eligible companies can receive
state grants to help pay for workforce training.  MCCC receives an annual allocation,
which it distributes to Montgomery County companies to help them defray the costs
of workforce training.

WEDnetPA

Qualifying companies can receive up to a maximum of $100,000 annual award, and each
Pennsylvania employee is eligible for up to $2,000 of training reimbursement. Eligible
industries include manufacturing, healthcare (certain restrictions apply), information
technology, and any company with a commercial/industrial client base. Retail companies
are not eligible.

Last year, MCCC received approximately $226,000 that enabled 20 area companies to
train their workforce, increasing their competitive edge during this time of economic
recovery. MCCC is expecting to receive comparable funding this year. Companies should
submit applications now. Usually, MCCC allocates 75% of the available funding by the
end of August.

WEDnetPA will pay for many types of training, including safety, continuous improvement,
professional development, ESL, and technical skills.  For a more complete list of
training topics, contact MCCC’s Workforce Development Division or check directly on
the WEDnetPA website. In addition, MCCC’s Workforce Development Division will coordinate on-site or virtual
training, tailoring curriculum specific to the needs of a company.

“Last year, during COVID, we were able to customize and deliver training virtually
for companies via our qualified trainers, who are not only excellent teachers and
subject-matter experts, but who currently work in the industry and are up-to-date
with identifying company needs and solving problems,” said Bernadette DeBias, MCCC’s
Director of Workforce Development, who manages WEDnetPA for MCCC. “We did a lot of
management, customer service, leadership, and teamwork training last year, in addition
to technical training.”

“Leaders and managers needed to be equipped with skills that would enable them to
keep their departments moving and working together in a virtual environment under
a lot of stress,” DeBias added. “In today’s environment, where it is difficult to
find and retain qualified talent, it is more important than ever to invest in training
your workforce.”

To apply for WEDnetPA funding grants, companies should begin to submit applications
now for the new fiscal year. Companies strategically can submit training plans for
the entire fiscal year, from July 2021 through June 30, 2022, said DeBias.

If you are interested in learning more about WEDnetPA, and want to get started with
the process, please contact Bernadette DeBias (bdebias@mc3.edu) or Katina Faulk                  (kfaulk@mc3.edu) to discuss eligibility, process, and training plans.

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.