Sen. Jason Rarick (R-Pine City) today congratulated Sappi Fine Paper in Cloquet for being selected to receive a $100,000 grant from Minnesota’s Dual Training Grant Program. The grant will help Sappi provide 25 employees with an opportunity to advance their careers through on-the-job training in advanced manufacturing.

“It is exciting to see a great company like Sappi selected for such an important grant,” said Sen. Rarick. “I’m an electrician, so I can tell you firsthand how well the apprenticeship model works for job training. Dual-training programs try to replicate that model. Workers are able to learn new skills and companies are able to put those skills to use right away. Most important, this program is a great way for employers and employees to show their commitment to each other.”

In 2015 the Minnesota Legislature established the Dual Training Grant program administered by the Office of Higher Education to support the implementation of the Minnesota PIPELINE program administered by the Department of Labor and Industry. The Dual Training Grant program pairs on-the-job training with related instruction to generate a comprehensive platform for learning. Employers may apply for Dual Training Grants to reimburse related instruction costs of dual-training programs in occupations for which competency standards have been identified among the four PIPELINE industries of Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health Care Services and Information Technology.

This year the program received $3.6 million in grant requests. The latest round of funding will support 60 Minnesota companies and 664 employees.