$200,000 CEDIT grant to support regional workforce training

For immediate release                                    Contact Mark Wickersham

February 28, 2013                                           260-356-5688

$200,000 CEDIT grant to support regional workforce training center

The City of Huntington has committed $200,000 from its CEDIT funds to support the development of a regional workforce training center to be constructed in Huntington. Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters proposed to revise the city's Capital Improvement Plan to make the funding available, and the City Council voted to approve the revision.

The project is a collaborative effort being led by the Huntington County Community School Corporation in cooperation with Ivy Tech State College, WorkOne Northeast, Huntington County Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Huntington County. Upon completion, the center will offer training opportunities to regional employers to help address workforce "skills gaps." The center, first proposed during 2012, is estimated to cost approximately $1 million.

"The center will be very encouraging to our existing employers and labor force," said Mark Wickersham, executive director, Huntington County Economic Development.