SKILLS TRAINING FILLS GAP LEFT BY RETIREES
Procter and Gamble’s Cape Girardeau plant faced a significant loss of skill and work experience when electrical technicians began reaching retirement age and leaving the workforce. Evolving technology, coupled with the fact that electricians promoted from within the company had little to no initial electrical training, meant that remaining technicians were faced with a significant skills gap, outdated knowledge, and nowhere to turn for support and education.
To address this problem, the company partnered with Mineral Area College, where they qualified for Missouri One Start’s workforce training assistance. This allowed the company to provide training to new and existing technicians in the field of automated manufacturing equipment. New technicians received education on entry-level skills, and current technicians in the company received up-to-date electrical automation training to ensure they were on par with industry standards. Through these training courses, the company was able to bridge the skills gap created by retiring technicians and significantly reduce the time and manpower required to troubleshoot and repair automated equipment, leading to improved operational efficiency.
Matt Koenig, Education & Training HR leader at Procter & Gamble, had this to say, “Overall, the training we provided, thanks to assistance from Missouri One Start and our partnership with Mineral Area College, has empowered our workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle the challenges of evolving technology within the field of automated manufacturing.”
About Missouri One Start:
Missouri One Start is a Division within the Department of Economic Development. Training programs are administered regionally by local education agencies (LEAs). In addition to meeting certain eligibility criteria, companies must be making a capital investment five times greater than the amount of training funds they receive.
