Mid Michigan College and Delta College playing host to the Regional Talent Innovation Program

The Middle Michigan Development Corporation has recently launched a new initiative called the Regional Talent Innovation Program, which will provide training to more than 200 people in eight counties across middle Michigan. Those counties include Saginaw, Midland, Isabella, Gratiot, Gladwin, Clare, Bay, and Arenac counties. The program is funded thanks to several grant funds that total almost $750,000. The grant money has come from the Federal CARES Act, Michigan Strategic Fund dollars, and other federal grants.

The rollout for the Regional Talent Innovation Program began back in the fall of last year with employers and professional training for people who were looking to upskill, reskill, or learn new skills. Those interested in the program are still encouraged to sign up for the courses, which are free, through April of this year.

Potential students in the area can get one or two industry-recognized credentials from Mid Michigan College or Delta College for free. The training is intended to improve advanced manufacturing skills around mid-Michigan, as well as other focus areas like supervisory oversight, safety practices, and technical skills.

At the end of last year, more than 20 companies had shown interest in their employees having access to free training through the program. The program is also getting support from organizations like Michigan Works! agencies, the region’s economic development organizations, and college corporate training teams. The interested employers will be able to use this support to help develop training plans to help further their goals. 

President and CEO of the Mid Michigan Development Corporation Jim McBryde was quoted by Second Wave Media on the preparation for the program, saying, “We surveyed our regional employers to determine how to best meet their talent needs. It’s clear that our companies have a variety of training needs to support their safe and strong operations. We hope that this program provides an important pathway for people to get trained, while also alleviating some of the challenges that face employers.”

He also noted the need for a program such as the Regional Talent Innovation Program: “The grant intentionally supports entry-level skills so that new workers can advance in their current roles and improve their earning potential. At least 51% of the people who are trained through RTI must fall below the low-to-moderate income threshold, and that’s because we understand how vital it is to create economic opportunity at all levels of our communities.”

The Regional Talent Innovation Program is the first of its kind, and was therefore created entirely from scratch by the Mid Michigan Development Corporation team. The MMDC has stated that while there were challenges in launching the program, it hopes that it can become a model for other future projects to better improve skilled training in Michigan.

Jessie Stickler, director of communications at Middle Michigan Development Corporation, was quoted on the future of the program, saying, “To support their employees, Bandit Industries, Inc., Unified Brands, and American Mitsuba Corporations are a few corporations looking to launch free trainings through this program.” 

More information on the Regional Talent Innovation Program can be found at the MMDC website.

More information about Mid Michigan College can be found at the school’s website.

More information about Delta College can be found here.