Baxter Pharmaceutical, Bloomington Chamber awarded training grants

by Bethany Nolan 331-4737 | bnolan@heraldt.com
May 20, 2007

BLOOMINGTON — Baxter Pharmaceutical Solutions and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce’s Foundation have received grant funds from the state to help train existing workers.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced earlier this week it awarded about $8.5 million in Training Acceleration Grants to more than 50 Hoosier companies and groups in February, March and April.

Baxter received $185,400 to give about 120 workers in management and training skills, and the chamber’s foundation received about $57,000 that was used for management training for about 20 workers.

Chamber president and CEO Christy Steele-Gillenwater said Thursday the funds will help train existing local workers in conjunction with Ivy Tech.

“We were thrilled and honored to receive this grant,” she said. “Through a partnership with Ivy Tech, the grant enabled the community to provide additional training resources for existing workers in Monroe County to help ensure businesses can meet the demands and competitive environment of the 21st century.”

Brenda McLane, Ivy Tech’s executive director of workforce and economic development, said the grant helped fund the school’s Management & Supervisory Institute.

Attendees meet every other week for management and supervisory training, covering things like communication and conflict resolution.

“The program is very comphrensive,” she said. “We’ve had people who are new supervisors or people who’ve been in the job for a while.”

The grant program provides funds to companies and organizations seeking to expand the skills of their existing work force through training programs that result in industry- recognized credentials, according to a news release sent Thursday.

The grant program has four core objectives: promoting small businesses; fostering job retention and expansion; increasing personal income for Hoosier workers; and providing training to address skill gaps in the Hoosier work force.