The RE Store announces the expansion of their highly successful workplace training program, the Community Jobs Training Program. The new initiative, called the Revision Division Design-Build Training Institute, helps to develop in-demand job skills for careers in the manufacturing sector while diverting usable material from the landfill and making these high-quality materials available to community members.
The manufacturing industry is the fastest growing industry in Whatcom County, supporting more than 300 manufacturers and 9,000 manufacturing jobs. Trainees will work directly with experienced RE Store craftspeople to design and build home furnishings from reclaimed materials and manufacturing by-products. These products will then be available for sale to the general public.
“The concept of the Revision Division Design-Build Institute has been in the works for a few years now. Seeing it become a reality warms my heart,” says Kurt Gisclair, Director of The RE Store. “This expansion of our Community Jobs Training Program will allow us to address the rapidly growing manufacturing sector of Whatcom County by giving trainees the skills to secure permanent employment."
The Revision Division Design-Build Training Institute, which is an expansion of our Community Jobs Training Program, is supported in part through a 3-year grant awarded by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, WA. The new Revision Division Design-Build Training Institute Manager will be designing a program that takes a unique approach to combating still-high unemployment rates and an overly competitive job market in Whatcom County.
“Covid-19 has made job training programs like ours even more essential,” says Delaney Skordal, Community Jobs Training Program manager. “Our goal is to help folks find jobs in our competitive job market and help them gain the skills and confidence needed to become economically self-sufficient in a career they love. I’m honored to help take this program to the next level by expanding our training opportunities to support more people in our community.”
Since 2013, Community Jobs Training Program has partnered with county and city agencies to provide skill-based on-the-job training to underserved individuals in our community. Now in its 8th year, our Community Jobs Training Program features an extensive curriculum with a focus on soft and hard skills so that trainees can gain the experience they need to secure long-term employment. Trainees in the Revision Division Design-Build Training Institute will join other Community Jobs Training Program trainees in receiving resume building classes, job search workshops, and practice interview sessions.
