More than 50 representatives from manufacturing, healthcare and other Montgomery County businesses and organizations attended Montgomery County Community College Workforce Development’s Annual Roundtable Discussion on June 16 to hear about resources and ways to partner with MCCC to help rebound from the pandemic’s impact.

“Our Workforce and Economic Development Division is adaptable, flexible and transformational,” said Kyle Longacre, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development, who acknowledged the challenging, stressful times business leaders have had to endure during the past year. “As we see the economy emerging and reopening, we want to be in partnership with you to be able to develop programs and training for you.”

Referencing a recent New York Times article by columnist Paul Krugman, Longacre said the economy is “spinning its wheels” before it is about the takeoff, like a car ready to go at a stop sign.

“This means for now you’ll hear the screech of hiring needs and supply chain demands, but in a few months, the economy will be moving forward,” he said. “As we work alongside you as a business community partner, we want to be able to recognize those stresses and strains that you are seeing as a company and provide a format to share that information with us so we can meet your needs and help you to adjust."

Longacre described how MCCC’s Workforce and Economic Development Division can help to bridge the silos of education and workforce. The Division has access to financial resources, an enormous amount of expertise through MCCC’s faculty and staff and collaborations with partners in the county and beyond. MCCC’s President, Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, and Longacre both serve on the County’s workforce development board, MontcoWorks, and MCCC has many other connections throughout the region.

“If we don’t have the resource for you, we can connect you with someone who does because we have those partnerships,” Longacre said.

Furthermore, the Workforce Division values learning and providing stackable credentials, certificates, credits and degrees to help upskill current employees and train residents who are looking for employment.

“We are listening very closely to what employers are saying,” he said, noting that currently, it is incredibly visible that the hiring needs are immediate and urgent and that the skills gap has been there and continues to be there in many cases. “As we look at high-priority occupations, we look at data from the state and work with the County, and we want to focus on what employers are saying and how we are going to develop and build flexible, agile programs to meet these needs.”

One valuable resource for businesses is state funding for training of incumbent employees through the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania or WEDnetPA. Since its inception in 1999, WEDnetPA has helped more than 20,000 companies train over 1,200,000 employees, according to its website.

MCCC is the Montgomery County partner for WEDnetPA, explained Bernadette DeBias, MCCC Director of Workforce Development, and can assist businesses with obtaining funding for training and with providing training programs.

During her presentation about WEDnetPA, DeBias discussed eligibility for the program, application timelines, ranking criteria, funding availability and best practices. The new funding cycle begins July 1, 2021, and continues through June 30, 2022.

“We anticipate that funding will be the same as last year or approximately $8 million for the state and approximately $230,000 for Montgomery County,” said DeBias, noting that eligible companies can receive a maximum grant of $2,000 per employee, up to $100,000 per company per fiscal year.

According to a state survey of companies who used WEDnetPA, 99% of them experienced positive outcomes, including improved product/service quality, improved communications and teamwork, increased employee morale, safer workplaces, fewer accidents, employee promotions and wage increases, new customers and increased business.

For more information about eligibility and training plans for WEDnetPA, contact Bernadette DeBias at bdebias@mc3.edu. For any questions concerning the application, contract or invoicing processes, contact Katina Faulk at kfaulk@mc3.edu.

Following the WEDnetPA presentation, guest speakers Montgomery County Director of Commerce Dave Zellers, Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Rebecca Swanson and MontcoWorks Executive Director Jennifer Butler spoke about additional resources, loans, grants and opportunities available in their respective areas to help Montgomery County businesses.

Following the presentations, participants had the opportunity to join in several breakout training sessions featuring Communications, Unconscious Bias, Lean & Six Sigma Practices and Introduction to OSHA.

Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development and Economic Division can customize training for area companies and deliver the training onsite or virtually.