Small, Mid-Sized Businesses Power Up with Workforce Training.

Increasingly, small and mid-sized businesses are becoming just as focused on work force training as large corporations are. The training being provided by smaller companies is extending beyond nuts-and-bolts instruction into the area of core business skills, such as leading, managing, thinking creatively, and solving problems. States are dramatically increasing their funding and reducing their inflexible rules for work force training programs. Community colleges are providing accessible, affordable and responsive education and training that is often customized to specific business needs. Technology is making work force training both more essential and more feasible. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is also pushing state and local systems to bring business to the table to craft job training programs that meet real-world needs. Maryland's Partnership for Workforce Quality is an example of how some states are funding training programs targeted toward small businesses to make their state globally competitive. Connecticut exemplifies another trend in state-funded training, namely, customization by industry. In Austin, Texas, the local community college has partnered with a local company to develop an apprenticeship program supplemented with academic courses leading to an associate degree. Fast-changing technologies are both driving and enabling small companies to expand their work force training. (MN)