Bob Valentine

[ponto]

While work-force training is a tiny part of the state's economic development budget, the training that is done generally gets high marks from businesses and economic consultants.

Ask Bob Valentine, manager of Mitsubishi Electric Manufacturing's Maysville plant, which in 2001 had a choice of expanding or moving to Ohio or California.

The company needed more engineers and machine technicians who could work on the line making automotive electronics. So Valentine contacted state work-force development officials, who arranged to pay most of the costs to train employees at the Maysville Community and Technical College.

Because of the training, Valentine said, the Maysville plant grew from 80 employees to 400.

The instruction, in classes such as electricity, blueprint reading and machine shop safety, was a decisive factor in expanding the Kentucky facility, he said.

more (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/13238807.htm)

[balance]

"But some have questioned whether the state's training money should be used as a subsidy for huge corporations" In Mitsubishi's case it seems to have been a win win situation. Why wouldn't we spend the money to keep a plant through educating the already employed and helping to keep a viable plant open? I understand not all plants stay and up their new employees but in the long run you get a more qualified employable person after the training if the company should leave.