$2.9 Million In Pipeline Program Dual Training Grants Awarded

 

Contact: Sandy Connolly (651) 259-3902
James Honerman, DLI 651-284-5313

Minnesota employees and their employers will benefit from nearly $2.9 million in state grants to fund employment-based dual training for 664 current and new employees as part of the Minnesota PIPELINE Program.

The PIPELINE Programs’ Dual Training Grants, which were included in Gov. Tim Walz’s budget, give dual trainees the opportunity to earn while they learn and help businesses meet their workforce needs. Four industries with in-demand, high-growth occupations are eligible to receive grants:  advanced manufacturing, agriculture, health care services, and information technology.

“We are hearing remarkable stories of employees not only completing their education, but also being promoted and prepared for supervisory positions as the result of the PIPELINE Program,” said Commissioner Dennis Olson, Office of Higher Education. “Dual Training Grants are a successful model for both the employee and the employer.”

This year, 43 of the new grants are being awarded to companies located in greater Minnesota, with 17 in the metro area. Employees will earn a wide variety of industry-recognized degrees, certificates, and credentials as part of this program that will help improve their skills and advance their careers. The grants will support 35 employers’ ongoing investments and robust training programs in advanced manufacturing, one in agriculture, 16 in health care, and 7 in information technology. In addition, one of the grantees will train employees in both advanced manufacturing and agriculture.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) administers the Dual Training Grant program, in collaboration with the Minnesota PIPELINE Program at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). Grant funds can be used to cover the cost of dual trainees’ tuition, fees and required materials for the related instruction training in PIPELINE Program occupations.

“By pairing on-the-job training with classroom learning, the PIPELINE Program provides skills for workers, while helping employers meet their workforce needs,” said Nancy Leppink, DLI commissioner. “Apprenticeships and dual training continue to be important training models that successfully assist employers recruit and retain employees. We are excited to continue to support them with this eighth round of grants.”

Grants are being awarded to the following Minnesota organizations.

• Alliance Machine, Elk River
• Allina Health System, New Ulm
• Alomere Health, Alexandria
• American Crystal Sugar, Moorhead
• Apple Tree Dental, Mounds View
• Art Unlimited, Angora
• Bedford Industries, Worthington
• BTD Manufacturing, Lakeville
• Cardinal CG Company, Northfield
• Cerenity Senior Care, White Bear Lake
• Children's Dental Services, Minneapolis
• Citon Computer Corporation, Duluth
• Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, Crosby
• Cybex, Owatonna
• Daikin Applied Air, Faribault
• Design Ready Controls, Brooklyn Park
• DeZURIK, Sartell
• Dotson Iron Castings, Mankato
• Essentia Health, Duluth
• Fairview Health Services, Saint Paul
• Goodwill Industries, Saint Paul
• Greater Bemidji, Bemidji
• Homecrest Outdoor Living, Wadena
• Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association, Rochester
• Iron River Construction, Chaska
• Iron Shoe Farm, Princeton
• JBS, Worthington
• Jones Metal, Mankato
• K&G Manufacturing, Faribault
• Kahler Automation, Fairmont
• Mankato Clinic, Mankato
• McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Dodge Center
• Mechanical Systems, Dundas
• NewTeam, Forest Lake
• Nidec, Mankato
• Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester
• Our Lady of Guadalupe Free Clinic, Worthington
• Pentair Flow Technologies, New Brighton
• Pequot Tool & Manufacturing, Pequot Lakes
• Post Consumer Brands, Northfield
• Reell Precision Manufacturing, Saint Paul
• Sage Electrochromics, Faribault
• Sanford Health, Worthington and Bemidji
• Sappi, Cloquet
• Seneca Foods Corporation, LeSueur
• SFC Global Supply Chain, Marshall
• Spectro Alloys Corp, Rosemount
• St. Luke's, Duluth
• Standard Iron & Wire Works, Monticello
• Syvantis Technologies, Baxter
• The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Brainerd
• Thomson Reuters, Eagan
• Touchstone Mental Health, Minneapolis
• Trex Commercial Products, Brooklyn Park
• Ultra Machining Company, Monticello
• Vital Images, Minnetonka
• V-TEK, Mankato
• West Central Turkeys, Pelican Rapids
• Winegar, Waseca
• Yeager Machine, Norwood Young America

For more information about Dual Training Grants, contact Megan FitzGibbon at 651-355-0606 or megan.fitzgibbon@state.mn.us.

For more information about the Minnesota PIPELINE Program, contact Annie Welch, PIPELINE Program manager, at 651-284-5353 or annie.welch@state.mn.us.

News media contacts:

James Honerman, DLI
651-284-5313
james.honerman@state.mn.us

Sandy Connolly, OHE
651-259-3902
sandy.connolly@state.mn.us