ST. PAUL, MN – Senator Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), Chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, and other members of the Minnesota Senate will be visiting various communities throughout Minnesota to learn more about local public-private partnerships between Minnesota employers, high schools, and colleges. Representatives from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association, and the Minnesota Business Partnership, will join Senator Anderson to highlight work they have been doing to help address workforce issues around the state. With a looming workforce shortage, more Minnesota employers than ever before are getting engaged in public-private training programs to train their employees. The tour will highlight success stories throughout the state, where employers and education providers have partnered to educate and train the next generation of Minnesotans for successful, in-demand careers. They will be stopping in Senator Mark Koran’s (R-North Branch) district on Thursday to visit Wyoming Machine in the city of Stacy.

“Post-secondary education is a vital component to the success of upcoming generations,” said Senator Koran. “We are focused on providing opportunities for successful careers that are in-demand in our current economy. Wyoming Machine is an excellent example of community partnerships’ impact on accessibility to education and skilled labor positions. As we strive to close the skills gap in our state, they are serving our communities through apprenticeship programs offered alongside Pine Technical and Community College.”

For the full schedule, list of participants, and information about each stop, please see below.

Senate Workforce Development and Jobs Tour

Oct. 30-31, 2019

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

• 8:30 AM – MRG Tool & Die, Faribault MN – 1100 Cannon Cir, Faribault, MN 55021

Faribault Overview: MRG Tool & Die will host a tour of their precision manufacturing facility. Following the tour, representatives from MRG Tool & Die, Faribault Chamber, Faribault Schools, and South Central College will present information about the various public-private initiatives in their region, including registered apprenticeship programs, and the new Youth Skills Training Program being coordinated between Faribault schools, the Faribault Chamber of Commerce Business Education Network, and area employers. Senator Anderson chief-authored the legislation in the Senate establishing the Youth Skills Training Program statewide.

Local Participants: Senator John Jasinski; Rep. Brian Daniels; Nort Johnson, Faribault Chamber; Superintendent Todd Sesker, Brian Coleman, Faribault Public Schools; Dr. Marsha Danielson, South Central College; Kelcey Woods-Nord, South Central College

• 11:00 AM – Red Wing Shoes, Red Wing MN – 315 Main Street, Red Wing, MN

Red Wing Overview: Red Wing Shoes will provide a tour and host a roundtable discussion to feature Red Wing’s Learn and Earn program, a program that provides high school students work-site learning along with credentials. Several Goodhue County employers, school districts, and Red Wing Ignite joined together to build the Learn and Earn program. Red Wings Shoes will also highlight other efforts they are undertaking to strengthen the region’s manufacturing workforce.

Local Participants: Sen. Mike Goggin; Rep. Barb Haley; Mark Urdahl, CEO Red Wing Shoes; Carrie Heimer, Red Wing Shoes; Helena Kilbride, Red Wing Shoes; Sarah Sylvester, Red Wing Shoes; President Larry Lundblad, Minnesota State College Southeast; Kasten Anderson and Mick Wendlund, Red Wing Public Schools; Red Wing High School students; Burke Murphy, Red Wing Ignite; Adam Gettings, Red Wing Ignite; Patty Brown, Red Wing Chamber; Todd Jones, Every Hand Joined; Rich Bodensteiner, Jones Foundation; Rachelle Cobb, Jones Foundation

• 2:30 PM – Minnesota State College Southeast, Winona MN – 1250 Homer Road, Winona, MN 55987

Winona Overview: The Winona tour will feature a tour of the manufacturing lab at MN State College Southeast, followed by a presentation by the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce Business Education Network on the Winona REACH program, which is designed to address the growing gap between employer needs and worker skills through first-hand work experiences. The REACH program is a collaboration built by the Winona Chamber with local high schools, Minnesota State College Southeast, Winona State University, Saint Mary’s University, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Following the program at MN State College Southeast, there will be a brief tour of Miller Ingenuity.

Local Participants: Sen. Jeremy Miller; Rep. Gene Pelowski; Willie Lubahn, Manufacturing Trainer/Recruiter for Fastenal; Corey Hancock, Vice President for Strategic Accounts at Benchmark; Tom Wynn, retired President/CEO of Peerless Chain; local REACH Students; Larry Lundblad, Interim President – MN State Southeast; Meg Krinke, HR Consultant – MK Consultin; Randy Skarlupka, Vice President of Operations at Miller Ingenuity; Corey Hancock, Winona Senior High School social studies teacher; Dwayne Voegli, Winona Senior High School social studies teacher; Ross Freeman-Herdina, Winona Senior High School social studies teacher.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

• 8:00 AM – Cerenity Senior Care, White Bear Lake MN – 1900 Webber St, White Bear Lake, MN 55110

White Bear Lake Overview: Cerenity Senior Care will host a tour and roundtable discussion to showcase the Health Services Career Pathway Program, a partnership program developed through White Bear Lake School District and the White Bear Lake Chamber. Additional programs that will be highlighted include the WBL Chamber’s Teacher Externship program and WBL School District’s Generation Z Connection program provides work-site learning opportunities for students in manufacturing, healthcare, and automotive.

Local Participants: Sen. Roger Chamberlain; Pat McDonald, Cerenity Senior Care; Shari Wilson, White Bear Lake Chamber; Beth Hein, Century College; Ellen Cole, Teacher Exern & Mahtomedi Career Counselor; Sarah Shanley, NE Metro Perkins Consortium.

• 9:30 AM – Wyoming Machine, Stacy MN – 30680 Forest Blvd, Stacy, MN 55079

Stacy Overview: Wyoming Machine will provide a tour of their sheet-metal production facility and host a discussion on the various apprenticeship programs offered by the company in partnership with Pine Technical and Community College. Wyoming Machine is run by sisters Traci Tapani and Lori Tapani, each of whom have been involved in numerous state and federal business-led training initiatives.

Local Participants: Traci Tapani, Wyoming Machine; Lori Tapani, Wyoming Machine; President Joe Mulford, PTCC; others to be confirmed.

• 11:00 AM – Pine Technical and Community College, Pine City MN – 900 4th St SE, Pine City, MN 55063

Pine City Overview: Pine Technical and Community College will host a tour of the campus and facilitate discussion on the numerous business-education partnership programs that the college coordinates. PTCC has been a leader in demonstrating how to successfully engage area businesses, including how they leveraged state funding and local businesses to take full advantage of the Workforce Development Scholarship Program, which incents students to enter high-growth, high-demand career training.

Local Participants: President Joe Mulford – Pine Technical and Community College; others to be confirmed.