A strong regional economy depends upon a strong workforce.  Creating a strong workforce requires education and follow-up training.  Slippery Rock University's Division of Lifelong Learning is committed to providing a wide variety of educational options for the Western Pennsylvania business community including customized workforce training, certification programs and continuing education courses.

"We are constantly talking with businesses in need of workforce development, and we have built an alliance of government agencies, independent trainers, educational institutions, etc. to help meet those needs.  The underlying concept is to help businesses succeed in Pennsylvania, leading to business growth and expanded employment opportunities for Pennsylvania residents," says Dr. James Kushner, Dean of Lifelong Learning.

Customized Training

These programs are designed to help businesses compete in today’s global economy by providing your employees with up-to-date skills.  We offer a wide range of programs with flexible scheduling at an excellent value, all taught by some of the best professionals in business and industry.  Customized courses can be provided either at our training facilities, on-site at your company or at a third-party location.  We want to help businesses achieve their goals, better serve their customers and become more profitable.

Benefits 

• Training designed to meet YOUR needs
• Flexible scheduling
• Instructors are subject matter experts and possess real world experience
• Cost-effective method of employee retention and professional development
• Investment in your company’s future

In this area, two of our key initiatives are...

• The Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development's Customized Job Training Program
• The Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA)

The Customized Job Training (CJT) Program is a grant program designed to support the needs of employers to provide customized training to their employees and promote business and educational partnerships in the development and implementation of industry specific curricula.

CJT funds are available for projects that will result in one or more of the following objectives:

• The location or expansion of a private company or greenhouse within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which will create jobs paying wages of at least 150% of the current federal minimum wage and will make private capital investment within Pennsylvania
• Successful trainees being employed at jobs paying wages of at least 150% of the federal minimum wage
• The expansion or upgrade of existing jobs that will result in increased wages for the employees being trained
• The retention of jobs in Pennsylvania that would otherwise be lost
• The promotion of partnerships between local education agencies and private companies, between two or more private companies, between a labor organization and private companies where there is a direct connection between the development of skills and subsequent employment of trainees by one or more private companies
• The promotion of efforts by a labor organization to upgrade the skills of its members

The Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA) was created to make companies across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania more competitive by updating and improving the skills of their employees to meet specific company needs.

WEDnetPA is an alliance of a variety of educational providers across Pennsylvania — including Pennsylvania's 14 State System universities, Pennsylvania's 14 community colleges and other educational providers — that act as the delivery mechanism for the Commonwealth's Guaranteed Free Training (GFT) program. Each provider/WEDnetPA partner serves as the point of contact for businesses accessing GFT funds.

Through the GFT Program, qualified in-state businesses and out-of-state companies relocating to the economic-friendly business climate of Pennsylvania can access funding for a wide range of training (categorized as either Basic Skills Training or Information Technology Training).