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CBIA receives grant from Hitachi Foundation to help workers advance

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s (CBIA) Education Foundation has received a three-year, $199,964 grant from the Hitachi Foundation to help improve the skills of low-wage workers so they can advance within their careers.

     This program will focus primarily on the Greater Hartford region, helping employers to identify employee training needs for skill upgrading and job advancement.

     "This program will not only help advance the skills of specific people, but will help companies develop strategies to increase the retention rates of newly hired employees," says Lauren Weisberg Kaufman, CBIA vice president for education and training, and foundation director.

     CBIA joins six other organizations from across the country taking part in the Hitachi Foundation’s "Making Work Work," a $1.4 million grant program designed to explore and address barriers to job retention and advancement faced by low-income workers.
     " Welfare reform and public workforce development strategies tilt toward placing people in jobs. But these policies and programs too often fall short in helping them to retain these jobs or advance up the career ladder," says Barbara Dyer, president and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation.

     "Yet, the quality of life for low-wage workers is largely determined by their ability to sustain employment and increase their incomes. Our support of CBIA will help us learn what it takes for businesses and communities to build effective partnerships to promote workforce development," Dyer adds.

     The grant will allow CBIA to work with 40 small and midsize manufacturing and technology businesses in the Greater Hartford area and 150 employees who are struggling to make ends meet in low-wage jobs. The employers are, at the same time, concerned that these workers lack the skills, including English and math, to advance.

     With the help of the Capital Region Workforce Development Board, the Community Renewal Team, Capital Community College, the Connecticut Department of Labor, the Capitol Region Education Council and SmartForce e-Learning Foundation, CBIA will help employers define requisite skills for jobs, from entry to advanced levels. Together, they will develop skill paths and training plans that reflect company skill requirements.

     Employers interested in learning more about the program should contact CBIA’s Judy Resnick at 860-244-1900 or resnickj@cbia.com

      The Hitachi Foundation is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1985 with an endowment from Hitachi, Ltd. in Tokyo. The Foundation was established to promote social responsibility through effective participation in global society.

      CBIA is the state’s largest business organization with 10,000 member companies throughout Connecticut.