In September, the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership (MJSP), a division of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), held their annual retreat at the SCSU Welcome Center.
MJSP works with businesses, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to train or retrain workers, expand work opportunities and keep high-quality jobs in the state. The goal is to target short-term training for full-time employment in the growth sectors of the state’s economy. The MJSP Board is comprised of business leaders, community members, and higher-education representatives.
During the Board retreat, President Robbyn Wacker spoke about the future goals of the institution, the partnership with MJSP and the impact the grants have made to Central MN Businesses and workers since 2011.
SCSU is the state’s largest holder of MJSP grants, with 22 MJSP grants totaling 4.7 million dollars, impacting over 6,000 employees. In her remarks, President Wacker highlighted the central role that SCSU continues to play in higher education and within the growing industries in and around the St. Cloud area.
After the meeting, the group toured a MJSP grant partner DBL Labs, which is a division of EssilorLuxottica and has five campuses in St. Cloud. EssilorLuxottica is the world’s largest Optical company employing 185,000 people. Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) facilitates the MJSP grants for DEED and is an integral partner in ensuring that companies like EssilorLuxottica are able to advance their workforce in a variety of opportunities.
View a complete list of companies served by the MJSP grants and how PACE has supported their growth.
