Industrial training is key to better jobs

Thanks to the cooperative efforts of area industries and the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, employees have an opportunity to upgrade their skills to move up to better jobs without having to change employers or move to a new location.

Since the program started in 1995, more than 1,000 employees in the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City areas have benefited from the training.

Southeast Missouri Industrial Training Group is a not-for-profit organization funded by 16 companies. Using employees from those companies as trainers, the program offers training mostly in technical, electronics and maintenance areas.

The Career and Technology Center, which opened last year on the campus that also includes the soon-to-be-completed Central High School, offers space for the training and the specialized equipment needed to teach new skills.

The 16 participating companies fund the program through fees that are based on the number of employees being trained.

The training offered through the Southeast Missouri Industrial Training Group isn't the only specialized training available to local industries. Across town on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, more technical training is available at the new Polytechnic Institute, which also opened last year.

The Polytechnic Institute houses an array of high-tech equipment similar to that being used by local industries, which rely on these university-level training programs to produce workers with special technological skills so much in demand these days.

It is the spirit of cooperation between industry and education plus the focus on customized training that make these programs both useful and successful.

With these opportunities for training and advancement, this area continues to provide a work force that is so essential to existing and prospective employers.

Participants in these programs from both industry and education are to be commended for their close coordination and their cooperation in making these training opportunities possible.

The investment in such training pays huge dividends to the local economy and to the overall economic development of our communities.