Lake Superior College News Releases

Ninety lower-income workers in the Duluth area will have the opportunity to be trained for entry level manufacturing and industrial sewing positions and move up the career ladder to better-paying jobs.

SOAR Career Solutions, Lake Superior College and the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) will lead the two-year training collaboration with funding from a $139,975 Low Income Worker Training Program grant. Created in 2005, the Low Income Training Program covers the cost of training for ‘training-ready’ individuals with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Lake Superior College will offer courses in introduction to manufacturing technology, basic machine operator and fast track welding as certificate programs that allow flexibility in scheduling, smaller class sizes and more hands-on learning.

Training initiatives funded by this program are flexible and responsive to changes in business and economic conditions,? said Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner and MJSP Board Chair Dan McElroy. “Manufacturing and industrial sewing are doing well in Duluth and local businesses have indicated to us that they need employees with these skills.”

In attendance at the formal grant signing ceremony were (left to right) Paul Moe, Director of the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership; Rebecca Ellenson, Executive Director SOAR Career Solutions; Kathleen Nelson, President of Lake Superior College; and Duluth Mayor Don Ness.

The MJSP offers technical, financial and job training assistance to businesses, communities, educational institutions and workers. The board brings businesses with specific education needs together with educational institutions to design customized training programs.

For more information of the grant contact Steve Wagner, Vice President of Workforce and Community Development, Lake Superior College, 218 733-5934, s.wagner@lsc.edu.