HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Texas Workforce Commission awarded a $987,620 grant to a consortium to help build and expand upon worker skill levels at Houston's port locations today. The grant will facilitate standardized training across the industry with increased emphasis on technology, safety and homeland security. The grant will accommodate the training of 570 people for new jobs and 1,060 maritime professionals for upgraded jobs.
Grant recipients include San Jacinto College and the West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA) with support from the Port of Houston Authority, International Longshoreman's Association (ILA), the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and The WorkSource. Training began in January 2007 and will continue through November, 2007.
"This grant establishes the beginning of a long and dynamic partnership to build and expand the highly skilled and high wage jobs at all port locations. This funding forms the foundation to seamlessly replicate and sustain a professional training program that will affect the Gulf Coast region for the next 10 years," noted Dr. William Lindemann, Chancellor of San Jacinto College.
Employees of WGMA and the ILA will receive customized training at port sites and at San Jacinto College for all marine terminal operations including longshoreman, industrial truck operator, clerk/checker, gang and walking foreman, container handlers and yard tractor operators.
"The award is the first time a skills development grant has been awarded for training in the maritime industry and it recognizes how significant our industry is to the health of the local, regional and national economies. Our industry is expected to grow by 10 percent or more per year for the next 10 years. With this amazing growth, this grant provides middle class workers high paying jobs with benefits. With equipment and technologies becoming more sophisticated and expensive, a highly skilled and trained workforce will be essential for the ports of Texas to compete in the global economy," said Walter A. Niemand, President/ CEO of the West Gulf Maritime Association.
The Continuing & Professional Development Division of San Jacinto College offers programs and courses for individuals to retain or advance in their jobs, or make career transitions. The division provides training to companies and their employees to meet employers' demands for a highly skilled workforce, while helping incumbent workers reach their potential. For information on training, call 281.542.2059.
"This grant is industry driven," commented Lindemann. "100% of the training is designed to meet industry needs and will be conducted by industry experts."
West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA) is a Texas nonprofit maritime association representing over 70 maritime companies including steamship owners, operators and agents, along with stevedoring and/or terminal companies in Houston, Galveston and Brownsville, Texas and the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Acting through its committees appointed from the membership, the Association negotiates and administers various labor agreements with the International Longshoremen's Association in West Gulf ports. For more information call 713. 678.7655 or visit www.wgma.org.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,000 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and tenth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com.
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San Jacinto College is a comprehensive, public, two-year community college serving southeast Harris County for more than 45 years. The college delivers accessible, affordable, high-quality post-secondary education and continuing and professional development programs to prepare students to successfully transfer to senior institutions of higher education, enter the job market, and achieve their personal and professional goals. Through our programs, services, and partnerships with industry, the college supports the economic growth of the community and of the region.