Montgomery County Community College is allowing eligible Montgomery County companies to apply for Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA) funding for their workforce training needs.

WEDnetPA is a state training reimbursement grant program where eligible companies can receive state grants to help pay for workforce training.

This past year, the college administered $450,000 of WEDnetPA funding, helping 33 companies and training nearly 500 employees.

To be eligible, companies must be located in Pennsylvania and be part of eligible industry clusters, as defined in the Commonwealth’s guidelines. The maximum grant is $2,000 per employee, up to $100,000 per company per fiscal year.

Companies may only receive funding for two consecutive years or three years out of five. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible for funding.

For employees to qualify, they must be residents of and permanently employed in Pennsylvania on a full-time basis. They must also earn at least $12 per hour and be employed by the specific company location for which a grant is awarded.

Training programs, explains Bernadette DeBias, MCCC’s Director of Workforce Development, should be completed before June 30, 2024. The programs should involve skill building for current jobs or advancement. Employers pay for the cost of training upfront and are reimbursed at completion. Companies can choose their WEDnetPA partner and the training vendors.

MCCC’s Workforce Development and Economic Division works with companies to develop customized training that is specifically designed to meet their goals, helping them to grow and increase their competitive advantage.

Some examples of MCCC’s customized training in 2022 include:

• OSHA 10 training at several manufacturing facilities.

• Customized Lean manufacturing training.

• Leadership training for senior managers.

• Leadership training for new functional managers.

• Excel training – beginning, intermediate, and advanced

• Microsoft Office and Teams training

To apply for WEDnetPA funding grants, companies should submit applications now for the new fiscal year.

Read more about how to apply to the workforce training, and the different kinds of opportunities MCCC offers on Montgomery County Community College’s website.

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