Montgomery County Community College. (Credit: MediaNews Group / File Photo)
Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development Division is inviting representatives from area businesses to attend its upcoming Workforce Development Business Roundtable. The goal of the event, according to a press release, is to help businesses “by connecting them to valuable resources to strengthen their workforce and improve their competitive advantage.”
The annual event is being held on Wednesday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. in College Hall 144/148 on the college’s Whitpain Township campus. Attendees may also attend virtually. To register, visit mc3.edu/events.
Keynote speaker for this year’s event is Gwen Ross, director of workforce initiatives for the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED), who will be discussing Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 10-year economic development strategy. DCED is the state’s lead agency on economic development.
In her role, Ross works on a wide range of activities, policies, and programs to help create, sustain, and retain a talented workforce in Pennsylvania. She also serves as the grant manager for the DCED’s Foundation in Industry Training (FIT) Grant Program, the Manufacturing-Training to Career Grant Program, and oversees the policy and management of the Workforce and Economic Development Network of PA (WEDnetPA), according to the release.
The event will kick-off with a discussion of the advantages and significant changes of WEDnetPA, including major deadlines, and a new platform for ISSAC, the information technology system that supports WEDnetPA. That discussion will be led by Bernadette DeBias , Montgomery County Community College’s director of workforce development and Katina Faulk, administrative director for academic initiatives.
The college is encouraging all former and future WEDnet applicants to attend the event, due to the upcoming changes.
WEDnetPA is an alliance of educational providers across Pennsylvania, and Montgomery County Community college is the Montgomery County partner for this network. Through WEDnetPA, companies can receive state training grants to train their employees.
DeBias will discuss eligibility for the program, application timelines, ranking criteria, funding availability and best practices for the new funding round that begins Aug. 15, and continues through June 30, 2025.
The Business Roundtable also includes speakers from Montgomery County’s Commerce Department and the Workforce Development Board, discussing programs that can help existing businesses retain and grow their businesses in Montgomery County.
Manny Veloso, workforce & economic development trainer for the college will conduct a mini-training session on continuous improvement as an introduction to Montgomery County Community College’s series — which will provide training in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and Six Sigma Green Belt.
Veloso, who has a Master of Business Administration from Rider University, is an industrial engineer and an ASQ Certified Master Black Belt. He has helped companies all around the globe understand Lean Six Sigma and implemented related projects. The training will be offered free to in-person participants.
Montgomery County Community College’s Workforce Development Division can customize training for area companies and deliver the training onsite or virtually. Interested parties can contact Bernadette DeBias at bdebias@mc3.edu. The college also assists companies in developing their training plans and submitting them to WEDnetPA. For more information, visit https://www.mc3.edu/resources-for/workforce-development/customized-training.
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