March 12, 2018
St. Charles County, Missouri — Permian Plastics, a custom plastic injection molding company based in O’Fallon, Mo., recently was honored by the St. Charles County Workforce Development Board as the first local business to use the new manufacturing apprenticeship grant available from the Missouri Job Center of St. Charles County. The center received $255,000 in federal and state funding to be a pilot apprenticeship program.
Founded 24 years ago, Permian Plastics completed a $750,000 expansion in 2009, and was acquired by Chicago-based SFH Corporation in 2015. Today, Permian has 80 employees and makes precision products as a contract manufacturer for the electronics/telecommunications, consumer/industrial packaging, biotechnology and healthcare markets around the world.
“We are honored to partner with Permian Plastics through our new manufacturing apprenticeship grant program,” says Scott J. Drachnik, Director of the St. Charles County Department of Workforce & Business Development. “They are literally training their staff on our dime. Ben and his team realize the advantages of this training grant and are using it to expand the skills of one of their staff members. Permian Plastics is an advocate for the program and are encouraging other manufacturers to let us help them walk through the process.”
The local manufacturing apprenticeship program can be used to expand the skills and responsibilities of existing employees or used to help train new hires, Drachnik says. It includes five components: 1) Training on the job, 2) Classroom training, 3) Work mentor, 4) Progressive wages, and 5) National Occupational Credential from the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We received a state apprenticeship grant to help with training and wage costs for 30 manufacturing positions in St. Charles County,” he says. “Several other companies are working with us on their applications for the program, and we welcome more inquiries on a first-come, first-served basis while the funding lasts.”
For more information about the manufacturing apprenticeship grant program, please contact the St. Charles County Department of Workforce & Business Development at 636-255-6060, or visit http://www.sccmo.org/Workforce.
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