Since its inception last year, the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Partnership of Elkhart County has gained state and national attention. The Horizon Education Alliance, a local nonprofit in Elkhart County, has been working with Lippert Components to provide new training opportunities to bring more advanced manufacturing to the county.
This story by Ben Mikesell originally appeared in The Goshen News.
“Here in Elkhart we have a small population, jobs growing quickly and an economy that is already investing in advanced manufacturing,” Lippert Components President Scott Mereness said at a press conference Thursday morning at Lippert Plant 66. “But how do we impact more of the population?”
Announced Thursday, the AMSP has received roughly $9.5 million to keep the program going. Through the partnership, education leaders work with industry leaders to provide training for workers to learn new skills and also earn an education.
The Skill UP Indiana! award, presented by Indiana’s Department of Workforce Development, granted the AMSP $1.7 million for continued training efforts at 11 sites in the South Bend-Elkhart region. Over the last six years, local investments have amassed $4.3 million to help support the program. Through the Labor Institute for Training, the U.S. Department of Labor has also granted the AMSP $3.2 million. And lastly, private investors from the Lumina and Kresge foundations teamed up to name Elkhart County a talent hub and provide $275,000 for worker training over the next 31 months.
