The workforce training efforts of the Inland Empire’s groundbreaking InTech Regional Training Center, California Steel Industries (CSI) and other partnering businesses are gaining a boost towards national acclaim with the endorsement of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris—who paid a special visit to CSI’s campus last Thursday.
This marked one of the few times that a U.S. Senator has paid a visit to Fontana.
“I’m overwhelmed by the great work that is going on in the Inland Empire. This is truly a national model,” said Senator Harris about InTech. “I heard about it, read about it, and had to see it for myself so I can talk about it in Washington. Their success is going to be inspirational for other places so that any man and woman could have the same opportunities.”
California’s former Attorney General, now junior Democrat Senator, is fighting to defend regional need for continued funding for key workforce programs and is highlighting the importance of investing in job training for the 21st century.
“The idea that we are going to cut funding to train people just does not make any sense. It actually hurts workers and it hurts our economy,” said Harris.
According to the National Skills Coalition, President Trump’s 2018 budget calls for significant reductions in funding for key workforce programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This act provides critical services to workers who want to develop the necessary skills for a good job and financial support to employers who need to recruit or train skilled workers to compete.
During last Thursday’s visit to the CSI campus, Harris met with business executives, local college administrators and students during a roundtable meeting in the CSI Steel Way Café Conference Room. There, CSI Executive Vice President of Finance & Administration Brett Guge gave an account of CSI’s history and their heavy involvement with establishing InTech.
Afterwards, Harris toured the InTech facility and tried her hand at a computer forklift simulator before visiting classrooms where aspiring technical leaders were training. She told students she wanted to share their stories with her colleagues in Washington, D.C.
“People whose names you will never know are going to have opportunities because of your success,” she said.
NaturallyNat 