WEDnetPA, an alliance of educational providers serving the state’s business community, provided more than $6.5 million in training assistance to 715 companies during fiscal year 2019-20.
Funding provided 24,359 employees with essential skills and advanced technology education.
Essential skill training includes business and computer operations health and safety, quality assurance manufacturing fundamentals, and communication and teamwork guidance.
Advanced technology training includes computer programming, software engineering, manufacturing technology, and software implementation.
“Now, more than ever, employee training is a necessary strategy for survival and companies in Pennsylvania are fortunate the commonwealth has made this a priority investment, but the circumstances of the day have added a layer of complexity unlike anything we’ve seen in the past,” Thomas Venditti, WEDnetPA state director, said. “Fortunately, WEDnetPA is employer driven and provides for an array of training methods, including online, distance learning and in-house training, which accounted for more than 20 percent of all training completed last year.”
WEDnetPA was founded in 1999 and is one of the main ways to provide incumbent workforce training.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s $30 million PAsmart workforce development initiative aims to create and expand innovative job training to provide workers with skills businesses need to compete in the global economy.