Diversified Labor Solutions is awarded a $493,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to create manufacturing training program.
BUFFALO, NY – Diversified Labor Solutions, a division of Cantalician Center for Learning, Inc. has received a $493,000 Grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF). The funding will be used to create Manufacturing Training and Employment Support Services (MTESS) that will focus on reducing barriers to employment for people that are part of the local underserved population.
Diversified Labor Solutions (DLS) employs more than 260 people from the local immigrant and developmental disabilities community in packaging and light manufacturing. Collectively, the labor force fills a crucial need for a dependable, adaptable, and experienced workers in the local business and manufacturing community. The light industrial business works with a list of manufacturing and distribution firms, including 3M OCelo, Sonwil Industries, and The Mentholatum Company. MTESS will consist of four 3-month sessions with 12 participants in each session. Six of the participants will come from the refugee population and the other six people will be individuals with disabilities. All of whom are currently employed at DLS.
“We are thrilled for these services to start as it will address the severe skills gap in the light industrial field across in Western New York,” said Darren Lisicki, Director of Employment Services of Diversified Labor Solutions. “The program will also boost the readiness of employees by addressing barriers that are important in keeping workers gainfully employed and safe on the work floor. We believe this learning model will take hardworking, entry-level employees and allow them to reemerge as skilled workers ready to take on additional responsibilities in the manufacturing sector.”
The primary goal of MTESS is to prepare employees to move from entry-level, part-time positions into full-time employment opportunities within the region’s manufacturing industry.
“We believe that by aligning education and skills training with the job opportunities, people will gain necessary skills to increase their earning capacity. It will also remove the traditional barriers to employment, such as language and skills gaps, transportation, and childcare concerns that historically keep people in part-time jobs. Additionally, it will increase diversity in the workforce and cultivate talent pool that includes under employed populations as well as increase participants' opportunity to learn and work with people from other backgrounds,” said Anne Spisiak, Executive Director of the Cantalician Center for Learning, Inc. “We cannot thank the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation enough for making this investment in the people we employ who contribute the growth and vitality of the Western New York community.”
“These grants demonstrate our continued commitment to support a wide range of organizations improving
the health and well-being of New York’s most vulnerable,” — Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of
Visa and Chair of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Board.
The program that is slated to begin on February 22, 2021 and will be hosted at DLS’s more than 25,000 square-
foot-facility located inside Tri-Main Center in Buffalo, New York.
Cantalician Center for Learning is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers mission driven services, creates opportunities for success, promotes independence and offers meaningful, integrated opportunities through individualized services to children and adults of all abilities from birth through retirement. Its services include: Daycare, Preschool and School Age services, Day Habilitation Services, Employment Services and Contract Sales through its division, Diversified Labor Solutions. For more information about Diversified Labor Solutions (DLS), visit dlswny.com.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission to improve the health and well-being of the vulnerable New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of targeted communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services. The Foundation – which is named in memory of a tireless advocate for immigrants, children, and the poor – provides flexible support for new and innovative approaches that enhance health and wellness across New York State. For more information, visit cabrinihealth.org.