Dakota County

Purpose: To improve English language and core skills of 120 incumbent workers in the Dakota County manufacturing sector.

This initiative of the Dakota County Workforce Council provides wage advancement training opportunities for 120 Dakota County workers in low-wage manufacturing jobs. Specialized training is provided in conjunction with Dakota County Technical College in occupational English instruction and core skills standards, taught on site at the workplace. Eligible manufacturing companies are identified through a partnership process determined by the local WorkForce Center, area colleges and the Dakota County Economic Development Partnership. Training providers work with employers to plan project goals, recruit eligible workers, assess them, and schedule training. Training providers conduct pre and post testing, and in cooperation with the employer, evaluate the success of the effort. This program is intended to provide training in work site English and manufacturing skills with an emphasis on industry-specific terminology; and to increase the employee’s knowledge of how each person’s role contributes to the overall success of the business. The program coordinators work with the employer to select participants, location, and hours of operation, and work to measurably improve reading, writing and comprehension in English and the acquisition of core skill standards. In addition to individual outcomes, the program also aims to produce an identifiable improvement in communication between workers and supervisory staff at the worksite, and quantifiable improvement in output and job performance.

	Partners: (as of April 2003)
		Educational: Dakota County Technical College Employment and Training Center, South Suburban Adult Basic Education Program
		Employers and business organization: Best Brands Corporation
		Non-Profit Organizations: None
		Public philanthropic, and other organizations: Dakota County Workforce Council
	Participants: Target clients are lower-skill, lower-wage working parents in the manufacturing sector
	Recruitment: Participants are selected jointly with the employer
	Training: Basic instruction with Occupational English in Context and Core Skill Standards as outlined by the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing. Each participant is assessed at enrollment to determine reading, math and comprehension levels, and tested after training to determine improvement. Similarly, participants are pre-and post- tested for progress in each unit of the Core Skills Standards instruction. A certificate is awarded for 80% attendance. In addition to hard skills and ESL, all participants also receive training in soft skills and basic skills
	Support Services: No support services are offered, other than those routinely available through the employer’s Human Resources department
	Job placement, retention and advancement: Job placement is irrelevant because all participants are current employees. Successful participation is assumed to increase the likelihood of retention and advancement