College signs two-year job skills grant with Kraus-Anderson Construction, Inc.

(from left) Al Gerhardt, Kraus-Anderson Construction Company Chief Operating Officer and President, Jodie Greising, Director of MJSP and Kent Hanson, Anoka-Ramsey Community College President, sign a $394,279 Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) grant that will allow the college to provide customized training and development to 500 employees at Kraus-Anderson.

October 26, 2018

Anoka-Ramsey Community College marked Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 with the signing of a new Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) grant agreement with locally owned and operated construction company, Kraus-Anderson Construction, Inc. The two-year, $394,279 grant will provide customized training and development to 500 employees within the company.

“We provide grants of up to $400,000 to educational institutions that partner with business to develop and deliver training that is specific to business needs,” said Jodie Greising, Director of MJSP. “In doing this, we have a three-part purpose: to promote economic development, to build capacity within our educational institutions that aligns with business needs and to provide economic opportunities for Minnesota workers by helping them get the skills they need to get or retain a job.”

The project is intended to adopt new training methods that will increase ability to address increasing labor force challenges resulting from current labor skill shortages. With offices in Minneapolis, Rochester, Duluth and Bemidji, new and customized curriculum will be delivered to the 500 employees that span the State of Minnesota in selected occupations throughout the company.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to work with MJSP and Kraus-Anderson on creative solutions to workforce training,” said Kent Hanson, President of Anoka-Ramsey. “Anoka-Ramsey enrolls more than 5,000 students who are seeking to update their job skills annually. This continued partnership with Kraus-Anderson has helped contribute to our mutual success. Our college looks forward to collaborating on new and exciting workforce solutions.”

With the MJSP grant, the college will be able to provide Kraus-Anderson:

• 35 training program topics in technology, such as drone technology, airborne precision scanning and demolition robotics;
• compliance and certification training;
• field management and micro learning, including just-in-time refresher education which can be applied immediately on the job.

“This project will improve Kraus-Anderson Construction productivity, performance and service and introduce new technology necessary for the company to transition to a construction business of the future,” said Matthew Salo, Training Director at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

“Our core purpose is to build enduring relationships and strong communities,” said Mike Smoczyk, Director of Professional Development at Kraus-Anderson, “Our grant partnership with Anoka-Ramsey is one example of how we do this.”

About the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and its services, visit http://mn.gov/deed/.

About the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership
The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership works with businesses and educational institutions to train or retrain workers, expand work opportunities and keep high-quality jobs in the state. The program has awarded $55.8 million since 2011 to train 66,854 workers and has leveraged $112 million in private funding.

About the Kraus-Anderson Construction
Founded in 1897 and privately owned and managed by the Engelsma family for more than 70 years, Kraus-Anderson Construction is consistently ranked by Engineering News-Record among the top 50 Construction Management-at-Risk Firms in the United States. The Minnesota base of operations is supplemented with regional offices, extending our capabilities coast to coast. Their affiliation with the National Builders Alliance allows Kraus-Anderson Construction to share insight and best practices so as to maximize effectiveness on projects nationwide.