The Winona Chamber of Commerce’s innovative REACH initiative will be able to prepare more students for careers in specialized-high-skilled fields thanks to a $95,000 grant from the Youth Skills Training Program. The REACH initiative is one of five partnerships to receive such a grant, which creates paid-learning opportunities for students aged 16 and older.
“There are major shortages in many career fields and it’s critically important to engage students while they are in high school to get them interested in these career opportunities,” said Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona), chairman of the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Committee. “That’s why the Youth Skills Training Program was one of the Senate Jobs Committee’s most important achievements of the 2017 session. Senator Paul Anderson of Plymouth had the idea and worked very hard with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make it a reality, and now students throughout Minnesota will be able to benefit – including students right here in Winona.”
The REACH initiative is an immersion program created by the Winona Chamber of Commerce. It aims to provide students learning opportunities and workplace skills beyond what they could receive in a classroom, in order to train more skilled workers that employers desperately need.
“These grants allow high schools, businesses and community organizations to work together to train students and create skilled workers for their communities,” said Ken Peterson, DLI commissioner.
The Youth Skills Training Program was created by the legislature in 2017 with bipartisan support, in order to connect students to opportunities in high-growth, high-demand fields like manufacturing, information technology, health care, and automotive industries. It focuses on developing local partnerships in coordination with employers and schools to provide not only classroom instruction, but also paid-learning opportunities. Grant recipients can use the funds for student recruitment, training, transportation, certifications, or for program development.
The following partnerships received grants. They represent 13 school districts and more than 50 employer partners.
- Goodhue County Collaborative
- Hutchinson TigerPath Initiative
- Twin West Youth Skills Training Program
- White Bear Lake Area Schools and Cerenity Senior Care
- Winona Chamber’s REACH Initiative
Twenty-five local partnerships throughout the state applied for pilot program grant funding. These partnerships involved more than 60 school districts and more than 100 employers in four different industries.
A second round of applications will open this fall.