ndiana-based Jayco found Idaho's work-force training programs to be a major benefit as it mulled moving to Twin Falls a few years ago, and as it subsequently expanded its recreational vehicle assembly operation.
      "We received several grants that have been extremely helpful in training our production employees in our processes of assembly of RVs," says Paul Geczy, Jayco's vice president of administration. "There wasn't a large pool of skilled or experienced assemblers in the labor market there. Everyone we have hired has had to learn our particular methods and processes."
      The grants Jayco receives helps the company do all of its training in-house at its Idaho Falls operations, which currently employ 275.
      "Our entire experience dealing with Idaho government has been positive from day one," Geczy says. "There is an obvious attitude in state government in Idaho that they want manufacturers to come there."
      Jayco's site decision was geography-based, but Idaho's worker-training programs were among the factors that led Jayco to the state to site the facility that serves Western markets stretching from Northwest Canada to Mexico, Geczy says.
      Idaho's neighbor to the south, Utah, also has a robust work-force training system. One of the recent firms to benefit is Carlisle-Syntec, which placed two building-materials manufacturing operations at the Utah Industrial Depot in Tooele. The two operations employ 100 at the former military base.
      Dave McCall, Carlisle-Syntec's human resources supervisor, says training offered by the State of Utah has helped employees learn how to operate a new automated materials-handling system.
      "The state has been generous with its Custom Fit program, which has helped us with three types of training," McCall says. "The program is good. It allows us to split costs and train more people."
      Worker-training programs in the Rocky Mountain States vary in scope and target, but all are aimed at helping expanding and relocating industries. Following are highlights of the work-force training programs offered by each state. Information was supplied by the various state agencies that oversee training.       Colorado offers customized training to all industry sectors other than retail that train full-time, non-seasonal workers, for companies that are locating or expanding in the state. The state has an annual budget of approximately $2.7 million for customized job training programs and targets bioscience, aerospace, renewable energy and advanced technology.
      "The program will increase transferable job skills that support both the company's economic competitiveness by re-training its workers in new skills, while enhancing the workers' resumés and long-term employment opportunities," says Pete Roskop, business-development representative with the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade.
      Roskop says most training offered by the state aims at increasing efficiencies within a company through Six Sigma and other programs.
      The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) and Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) jointly administer the program. Training can be provided through the local community colleges.
      Roskop says companies have total control of the training program, including trainee selection, instructor selection, course content, training schedules, and training site selection. In many cases, participating companies have elected to conduct the training at their facilities in order to simulate actual work conditions.       The Idaho Workforce Development Training Fund is the primary state resource to assist new and existing businesses in meeting their work-force expansion needs. The training fund gives Idaho firms a competitive edge and supports local community efforts to attract new companies and retain existing ones. It provides new, full-time employees with needed skills or upgrades the skills of current full-time workers who are otherwise at risk of permanent lay-offs.
      The state has earmarked $50,000 in Workforce Investment Act funds for each of six regions to finance training that upgrades the skills of incumbent workers. This program in northern Idaho splits with employers the cost of computer numerically controlled equipment training and on-the-job training. The training fund focuses on industries that produce a product or service that is primarily sold outside the region where the business is located – manufacturing, software companies, food processing and call centers that sell their own products or services are examples of beneficiaries.
      The training fund is supported through a set-aside from the unemployment insurance tax that, with interest, totals around $4 million annually. The state provides no general tax resources for worker training.
      State officials say training that is in most demand is for healthcare occupations, maintenance technicians, engineers, scientists, machinists, skilled welders and commercial drivers. Private industry is actively involved in developing curricula to meet their specific work-force needs – at both the vocational/technical and academic levels.
      Training is administered by Idaho's three major universities – The University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho State University in Pocatello, and Boise State University – with various satellite programs located around the state. Also administering training are Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, and the state's community colleges.       Work-force training includes Workforce Investment Act and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families training through the Montana departments of Labor and Health & Human Services. The Montana Dept. of Commerce administers training for new workers. Also available is U.S. Dept. of Labor discretionary money for training in bio-energy and wood products. In addition, Montana's higher education system receives earmarked state dollars to increase education and training capacity in healthcare and construction industries.
      Montana budgets $3.9 million in worker training per the current biennium. Training is administered through the Montana University System (MUS), primarily through its two-year colleges of technology, community colleges, tribal colleges, Joint Apprenticeship programs, for-profit customized trainers and non-profit trainers.
      Montana officials report that computer training, construction-related training, basic business skills and healthcare training are in most demand. New or planned training programs include diverse bio-energy training, including through the Applied Technology Center at Montana State University-Northern in Havre.
      For the past three years, the MUS has developed policy requiring all of its campuses, plus the state's community colleges, to demonstrate industry participation in the development of new skills-based training programs before MUS will approve any such training. In addition, most campuses have industry advisers sitting on their program oversight committees, which perform curricula review.       A major component of work-force training for Utah is its Custom Fit Training (CFT) program. These training funds are distributed through the Utah College of Applied Technology to host institutions in the state. This funding may pay a portion of training costs for qualified businesses. Salt Lake Community College is the regional host to deliver CFT training to expanding companies or new companies moving into either Salt Lake or Tooele County. Companies apply under specified criteria through Salt Lake Community College's School of Professional and Economic Development.
      The Utah College of Applied Technologies (UCAT) offers Custom Fit Training funds, and the Department of Workforce Services has Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds and offers Incumbent Worker funding for companies currently in Utah.
      The Utah College of Applied Technology is a system of eight technical colleges. Each campus has many training programs to meet a variety of industry needs. These include manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, services professions, construction technology, electronics and industrial maintenance.
      In addition to Custom Fit, Salt Lake Community College is the designated institution to supply Short Term Intensive Training (STIT) programs through the School of Professional and Economic Development for Salt Lake and Tooele County. These funds are distributed through the Utah System of Higher Education and are targeted to individuals for industry-specific employment and certification programs.
      As a comprehensive community college, SLCC tries to meet the broad-based needs of the business and industry sectors in its service region, but has targeted CFT and STIT dollars to correlate to Gov. John Huntsman's economic development initiatives. SLCC has targeted advanced composites materials, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and manufacturing technology as high growth industry sectors in its service area.
      Salt Lake Community College surveyed its business and industry partners and found that specialized training in composites materials and bio-manufacturing technician certification are currently not available in consistent format. SLCC is part of a state-wide effort to develop a common training-delivery mechanism to fill this gap.
      UCAT continually looks for opportunities to provide training to meet industry needs, and is very responsive to those needs. Representatives from the colleges continually meet with industry and look for opportunities to provide training. The size and structure of the Technical Colleges allows for the opportunity to adapt quickly in developing programs, courses or customized training to meet those opportunities.
      Training topics that are in most demand include leadership, company-specific operational training, lean manufacturing, English as a second language, technology software certification, ISO certification, HVAC certification, welding, healthcare, math, electronics, electricity and machining.
      State training administrators say the manufacturing sector has a strong need for new employees in areas including machining, composites, welding, and drafting.
      Nurses are in constant demand, as are other health professions. Salt Lake Community College serves more than 7,000 employees annually in Salt Lake and Tooele County and has multiple requests for bio-technology technician training, company-specific technician level training from entry level through supervisory level, specialized engineering training, managerial soft-skills training, ESL and Spanish language training.
      New growth in the UCAT and Community College systems will focus on composites, one of Utah's most rapidly growing industries. American sign language-interpreting is also a new focus, available for students this year. Both have a strong job market for graduates. SLCC plans to implement composites materials technician and bio-manufacturing technician training programs modeled after its successful biotechnology training and education program. In addition, it will develop a comprehensive apprenticeship training program for women in non-traditional occupations.       The Workforce Development Training Fund is the primary source of funding for training required by new and expanding businesses in Wyoming.
      Joan Evans, director of the Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services, says one of the most prohibitive issues facing a company trying to expand its services and work force is the overwhelming cost associated with hiring and training a work force during the start-up phase of the expansion.
      "The Workforce Development Training Fund can help a growing Wyoming business by deferring much of the business's training costs during the expansion phase," Evans says.
      The fund is also a tool for the Department of Workforce Services to partner with Wyoming's economic development entities in recruitment of new businesses, Evans says.
      "During the site selection phase of the business recruitment process, all of the benefits of choosing Wyoming over another state become crucial. The Department of Workforce Services works with our economic development partners to ensure that a business considering Wyoming as a place of operation will know how the training fund can help create a successful start-up by deferring much of the business's training costs.
      Wyoming's Pre-Hire Economic Development Grant Program is designed to train skilled workers in a particular business, businesses, or industry.
      Wyoming's training programs currently do not focus on specific industry sectors. However, the Department of Workforce Services and Workforce Development Council is planning a sector strategy initiative this summer. Evans says the industry that currently utilizes the majority of training funds is healthcare.
      Grants are typically applied for by a group consisting of a trainer, an economic development entity, the local Workforce Center, and a business or group of businesses which require trained employees. The development of the grant application is a cooperative process in which the business or businesses that require the trained potential employees develop a curriculum along with the trainer.