Bevill State Community College has received two grants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide workforce training to dislocated workers in west Alabama.
Bevill State will offer the Modern Multi-Skilled Manufacturing Training project in advanced manufacturing processes as well as the Alabama Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Trades Training program in commercial construction. Both projects will provide participants with skill sets and retraining for the workforce.
“We are very pleased to receive these grants and be able to offer this training,” Bevill State Dean of Workforce Development Max Weaver said. “I think this will especially be beneficial to individuals who have been laid off or who are underemployed because the training will be targeted for them and financial assistance will be available.”
BSCC will partner with the Alabama Career Center System for the two projects to identify qualified individuals for training in either manufacturing or construction. Participants will be certified as WIA eligible by career center staff before being enrolled in the programs.
The financial requirements for individuals to be WIA eligible will be higher than normal since the projects are funded with ARRA funding.
“The ARRA legislation raised the financial eligibility requirements quite a bit to allow more people to be able to participate,” said Brian Gann, BSCC’s Director of Grants and Institutional Advancement. “People who are dislocated from their jobs and have an interest in these programs need to contact the Career Center nearest them. If they are eligible, all training costs will be covered by the grant.”
Bevill State is one of four community colleges statewide participating in the ALPACTT program. The course will last 10 weeks and topics will include industry orientation, hazardous materials, material handling, hand and power tool use, safety methods, functions of construction, OSHA safety training, resume and interview skills, and other on-the-job information. Successful participants will then have the opportunity to move either into a unionized or non-unionized apprenticeship program or a career technical program of study to continue skill development.
The Modern Multi-Skilled Manufacturing Training program will last 12 weeks and provide participants with an industry-recognized M3 production-level certification that will provide training in areas such as safety, communication, computer fundamentals, electrical circuits, measurement tools, pneumatics, hydraulics, automation operations, and blueprint reading in a manufacturing context.
The projects are funded through the Governor’s Recovery Act Skills Training Program funded by the Alabama Governor’s Office of Workforce Development and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The College has received $269,957 for the Multi-Skilled Manufacturing Training project and $380,640 for the ALPACTT project.
Classes are expected to begin in November and additional information will be distributed. Individuals who may be interested can contact the Career Center to be certified as an eligible participant and be added to the participant list.
For more information, please contact Sharron Owens at the Fayette Career Center at 205-932-3221 ext. 5171, Annette Rea at the Hamilton Career Center at 205-921-5672 ext. 33, or Gina Nichols at the Jasper Career Center at 205-384-4557 ext. 222 for more information.
