INNOVATIONS IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

WIRE-Net and PTDA Receive Funding for Innovative Workforce Development Initiative

Cleveland, OH – WIRE-Net announced that a partnership created with the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) Foundation has been awarded a grant by The Manufacturing Institute, the research and education arm of the National Association of Manufacturers. The Manufacturing Institute is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott, Hitachi, and Annie E. Casey Foundations in its “sector” work. WIRE-Net will be supporting the efforts of the PTDA Foundation by connecting them with workforce development intermediaries and related resources in Northeastern Ohio.

This one-year grant will support local industrial distribution and manufacturing and will strengthen Cleveland’s workforce system. According to Rebecca Kusner, Vice President of WIRE-Net’s Workforce Development Programs, “We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project. It was a highly competitive process and Cleveland is one of only two cities in the nation selected to implement it.”

WIRE-Net will be supporting the PTDA Foundation-led alliance to expand the Industrial Career’s Pathway (ICP) ^(SM) initiative in Cleveland. They will be working together to promote career awareness, development, and training opportunities by connecting industrial distribution and manufacturing employers, local workforce resources, and low-income residents.

Kusner continued, “WIRE-Net has a strong track record of successful collaboration with community partners.” WIRE-Net and PTDA Cleveland area members hope to recruit and train 60 individuals for jobs in manufacturing and distribution by December 2006 by working closely with Tri-C, the local Workforce Investment Board, local One-Stops, and other supporting community-based organizations.

“We know these are aggressive goals”, stated Ms. Kusner. “However, both organizations are confident that together we will be able to make them. Cleveland and, northeast Ohio as a whole, has a strong base of industrial distribution companies. It is essential that we work together to create new opportunities to sustain and grow this sector of our manufacturing economy.”

The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) is the leading association for the industrial power transmission/motion control distribution channel. PTDA is dedicated to providing exceptional networking; targeted education, relevant information, and leading-edge business tools to help distributors and manufacturers meet marketplace demands competitively and profitably.

The PTDA Foundation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation whose operations are funded entirely by tax-deductible contributions. The Foundation was founded in 1982 to enhance knowledge, education, professionalism, and productivity within the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry.

WIRE-Net, as a management partner to manufacturing business leaders, provides services in manufacturing improvement, workforce development, and industrial real estate development and planning. A non-profit economic development organization, WIRE-Net has a membership base of over 200 manufacturing-related companies throughout the region.

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing in northeast Ohio to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth by providing expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees. WIRE- Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities. Through its mission WIRE-Net is working to create a region that values and invests in profitable, sustainable manufacturing companies. WIRE-Net is building a community of manufacturers that embraces innovation to compete globally, that works together to drive economic health locally, and whose leaders are committed to their employees and our community.

For more information, please see on WIRE-Net’s website at www.wire-net.org.