Freedom Credit Union receives $58,800 grant for employee training
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freedom Credit Union was awarded a $58,800 grant from the state of Massachusetts to train 29 workers by 2023. This project is funded by a Workforce Training Fund Program grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public workforce development agency that fosters partnerships between industry, education and workforce organizations. A total of $14.3 million in grants were awarded to businesses throughout the Commonwealth.
“We were thrilled to learn that our grant application was successful,” said President Glenn Welch. “Ongoing training and learning opportunities allow our staff to increase their expertise and grow in their careers. Not only does this benefit our employees, business and members, but our whole community.”
Freedom’s training has two components. The first, Principals of Leadership, will help to develop a cadre of supervisors and managers who uniformly understand and practice winning leadership principles in their daily work, along with developing a more cohesive team of managers that is better capable of managing the changes in a highly competitive market. The second will allow specialized training of an identified group of employees to develop project management competency with the goal of improving the member experiences.
Training will include leadership development, building emotional intelligence, cultural competencies and diversity, time management, presentation skills, critical thinking and analysis, accountability and delegation, business plan creation and effective communication skills.
“The training will not only engage our entire leadership team, but also employees from all different departments and levels in the organization we’ve identified as having ‘high potential’” said Freedom’s Vice President of Human Resources, Gina Noblit Giannotti. “This will allow these bright individuals to grow and develop their talents, assist in their career paths and help strengthen our succession plan. Because this team’s focus is on improving our member experience, it’s beneficial for everyone.”
Freedom Credit Union is a full-service financial institution with 11 branches in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. Since the beginning of the Baker-Polito Administration, the Workforce Training Fund Program has awarded approximately $110 million to train more than 87,000 workers from more than 2,500 Massachusetts businesses. A wide variety of companies received funding, ranging from large multinational firms, such as IBM, to small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. The major focus of the fund is small-to-medium sized companies.
The fund’s goal is to help address business productivity and competitiveness by providing resources to Massachusetts businesses to fund training for current and newly hired employees so they can stay competitive and continue to grow.
About Freedom Credit Union
Originally chartered in 1922 as the Western Massachusetts Telephone Workers Credit Union and renamed in 2004, Freedom Credit Union is an 11-branch, full-service financial institution. Today, membership is available to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin or Berkshire counties in Massachusetts, and Hartford or Tolland counties in Connecticut. Offering a complete range of banking services and loan products, Freedom Credit Union has conveniently located Massachusetts branches in Chicopee, Easthampton, Feeding Hills, Greenfield, Ludlow, Northampton, Turners Falls, West Springfield and three in Springfield, including the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy branch. For more information, visit freedom.coop.
Freedom Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Shares and deposits in excess of NCUA limits are fully insured by the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation (MSIC). Equal housing lender. NMLS #478769.
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