East Cascades Works has announced the 2023 recipients of our Employee Advancement Training grants: Basin Tree Care, Cascade Comprehensive Care, Collective Pallet, Cottage Daycare, Farewell Media, Full Sail Brewing, Kindred Circle, Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, and SherpTek. These businesses and organizations were collectively awarded over $85,000 in grant funding to support training and resources for their workforce.
The Employee Advancement Training grants provide an opportunity for employers in our region to build and maintain a quality workforce while creating new employment opportunities in their communities. Of the funding assistance, Marissa Newman, CEO of Kindred Circle Care LLC, said, “EC Works is helping to ensure that we have highly trained staff caring for our seniors and those with disabilities. This training is recommended by Oregon Health Authority, and our community is elated to know that our staff will receive the best training.”
The grants review committee pays particular attention to training that provides current employees an opportunity for advancement and wage increases within their company, as well as those that create opportunities for employers to create new backfill positions. “One of our manufacturing employer recipients not only outlined the advancement opportunities for ten specific employees in their application, but they also detailed their plan for collaborating with the local WorkSource team to find the right candidates for the open positions,” said Kristyn Fix, EC Works Business Services Program manager.
This funding opportunity encourages employers to really focus on enhancing the experience of their workforce and we were proud to hear from Dana Black, Collective Pallet that “this remarkable grant program has propelled our organization to new heights of success and excellence, nurturing a culture of growth and innovation that has impacted our employees. EC Works understood the challenges faced by businesses in our region and recognized the critical role that skilled and empowered employees play in driving growth.” And as Sue Stendahl, Cottage Daycare, noted, “These classes and trainings get very expensive so being able to pay out of these grant monies is very helpful!”
East Cascades Works will begin accepting the next round of Employee Advancement grant applications again on September 1, 2023 for October 1 funding decisions. Business services representatives will assist employers in connecting with WorkSource, Small Business Development Centers, and additional resource providers in each region, and multiple organizations are encouraged to collaborate for a collective advancement opportunity.
