Gassman announces $85,000 grant for workforce training

March 30, 2008

Boyceville - As part of Governor Doyle's $850,000 Emerging Industries Skills Partnership initiative, Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Robert Gassman Monday announced an $85,000 grant to Workforce Resource, Inc., funding that will train up to 135 workers in the bio-tech and renewable energy cluster of westcentral Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle made the Emerging Industries Skills Partnership (EISP) part of his Grow Wisconsin - The Next Steps strategy for economic and workforce development.  The grant that Gassman announced on his behalf will leverage additional resources, providing total funding of $135,000 for the region's Bio-Connect Project.

"The demand for renewable fuels is increasing, and with it, the need for skilled workers in our emerging biofuels industry," Gassman said. "The westcentral region has two of the seven ethanol plants in Wisconsin. This grant will provide them and others engaged in related agri-business enterprises the skilled workers they need. This is just one of the strategic investments Doyle is making now so that our economy will countinue to grow and create jobs in the years ahead."

The grant is one of 10 being awarded under the governor's $850,000 EISP initiative, providing new and incumbent workers with the necessary skills and meet workforce demands in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and renewable energy. Gassman announced the grant during a visit to Western Wisconsin Energy (WWE), LLC, a locally-owned ethanol plant in Boyceville. With a $45,000 renewable fuels grant from Doyle in 2006, the WWE plant opened in September of 2006 and now produces 45 million gallons of ethanol annually. Last month, WWE began supplying area retailers with E85 producted from locally-grown corn.

Workforce Resource will manage the project, on behalf of the West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board. Its partners include the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) and University of Wisconsin-Stout Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center (NWMOC).

As outlined by Gassman, the grant will enable Workforce Resource and its partners to:

* Train 15 new and 30 incumbent workers within the Bio-Cluster, by adapting Wisconsin Technical College System curriculum to meet their training needs, and by developing career pathways;

* Providing training in LEAN/Green principles for 75 to 90 high wage workers at WWE and two other employers in the cluster, and with the help of NWMOC, measure improvements in productivity.

Accepting the grant from Gassman was Richard Best, executive director of Workforce Resource. Joining them were Senator Pat Kreitlow of Chippewa Falls, CVTC President Bruce Barker and Robert Meyer, director of UW-Stout NWMOC.

Kreitlow, an advocate for renewable fuel production and development, also expressed satifaction with the announcement.

"I think this grant is exactly what we need to help train people in my district," he said. "By using this grant, we can help train local people to work in places like WWE. This is a good investment by the state and great news for the bio-tech and renewable fuels industry."

WWE general manager Steve Christensen said the project would provide training for 30 of his employees. In a letter supporting the grant application, he said, "Developing a skilled workforce is essential in filling jobs and retaining employees for postions within our company and the biotechnology industry in general. Recruiting and hiring trained employees in the biotechnology sector is a challenge and we find the goals of the proposal to be parallel to our company's hiring needs."

Christensen said Monday, "Our plant has always strived to hire local people to be employed at the plant. This grant will help ensure companies like the WWE will have workers available who have the necessary skill sets to be successful.

"By utilizing this grant, we can help make sure Western Wisconsin citizens get the training they need to find jobs in the bio-tech and renewable fuels industry."

Besides WWE, the project included Ace Ethanol in Stanley and Ardisam, a bio-diesel plant in Cumberland. In seeking the grant, Best said the project also would serve other agri-business enterprises in the region's nine counties: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin Pierce, Polk and St. Croix.

The Dunn County News; Sunday, March 30, 2008; Agriculture; A14