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| Leanne Roberts (standing), instructor with the Center for Corporate and Adult Learning at Penn State Erie, gave Tru-Weld Grating Inc. employees good marks for their enthusiasm and interest during a training session. |
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| Peggy McCarthy (right), interim director of the Center for Corporate and Adult Learning, shows Trent Kosterman, plant manager of Tru-Weld Grating Inc., the customized training available through Penn State Erie. |
| Photos by Penn State Erie |
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Most employers agree that it’s important to keep educating their workforce, but finding the right kind of instruction is difficult. That’s why Trent Kosterman, plant manager of Tru-Weld Grating Inc. in Saegertown, Pa., was pleased to learn about the customized training offered by the Center for Corporate and Adult Learning at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.
Tru-Weld manufactures structural steel gratings for industrial platforms, bridge decking, catwalks and roadways. The company employs 130 at three manufacturing sites, including the one in Saegertown, with corporate headquarters in Wexford, Pa.
Kosterman, manager of the Saegertown plant for eight years, learned about Penn State Erie’s workforce training programs from Marsha Walker of the Meadville Area Industrial Commission and Penn State Cooperative Extension Agent Dan Brockett. Kosterman talked with Peggy McCarthy, interim director of the Center for Corporate and Adult Learning, and told her about the work skills and personal skills he wanted the Saegertown plant’s 27 employees to acquire. McCarthy responded with a customized on-site training plan.
The training plan has made a definite improvement in the outlook of his employees, Kosterman said.
“I believe in the continuing development of the workforce, and I felt that there were issues in the plant that we needed to address,” Kosterman said. “I wanted to include the personal issues that are part of developing a well-rounded employee.”
McCarthy’s training plan includes six classes that address a variety of topics: managing change in the workplace; conflict resolution; communication skills; understanding the cost of doing business; managing your personal finances; and personal wellness, including fitness and smoking cessation.
The first three classes are considered skill management topics and are taught by Center for Corporate and Adult Learning instructor Leanne Roberts, who is assistant professor of education at Mercyhurst College. The last three sessions are considered personal and professional development classes and are taught by Brockett and Penn State Cooperative Extension Agents Janice Alberico and Kathleen Wenzel. Upon completion of the program, the employees will have received 12 hours of training and will qualify for 1.2 Penn State continuing education units.
Because Tru-Weld’s plant facilities had no training rooms, Kosterman made a deal with nearby St. Bernadette’s Church in Saegertown to hold training there once a week. He also attends the sessions with the employees.
Kosterman was ready to go ahead with the customized training offered by Penn State Erie when McCarthy offered him even more good news: The classes could be paid for by a Workforce Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA) grant. These funds provide, in a one-year time frame, up to $450 per year per employee for basic skills training and $700 for information technology training.
“The goal of the WEDnetPA grant program is to strengthen the business environment of the Commonwealth by improving the skill level and productivity of its workers,” McCarthy said. “At Penn State Erie, we’ve been able to help more than 19 companies, including Tru-Weld, find state funding for workforce training. WEDnetPA grants address the needs of companies to develop a long-term, stable workforce that keeps pace with modern manufacturing trends. It was a perfect fit for Tru-Weld.”
An outreach program of Penn State Erie |
