American textile maker Merida,
which designs and weaves made-to-order rugs in Fall River, is a 2017 recipient
of a Workplace Training Fund grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of
Labor and Workforce Development.Merida will use the $25,200 grant to educate
its production team on lean manufacturing, textile technology, and to expand
Merida’s apprenticeship program. In conjunction with the grant, the company
expects to add four additional jobs in Fall River by 2019.
According to Zairo Cheibub, Director of Research and Development at Merida: “A
key concept in lean manufacturing is eliminating wasted time and materials.
With this grant, we’ll focus on improving our workflow, maximizing
communication and visual signaling skills, and increasing our productivity.
From apprentice to master, our craftspeople are involved in every step of rug
production, allowing them to innovate and solve problems as a team. Expanding
our formal training program enhances job satisfaction and product quality, and
enables us to create and hand-finish beautiful, original rugs in our Fall River
workshop.”
The Workforce Training Fund provides grants of up to $250,000 to companies in
Massachusetts to pay for employee training over a two-year period. Grants are
awarded to projects that will upgrade workers’ skills, increase productivity,
and enhance the competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses. This grant project
is funded by a Workforce Training Fund, given by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant
program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation.
Source: CNBC Africa, U.S.A Monday, 13 November 2017