Grant Will Provide Training for 500 New and Existing Employees
CHICAGO – Continuing to invest in the skills of Illinois’ working men and women, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a $130,750 workforce training grant to ZLB Behring, a company specializing in the production of plasma products for people with hemophilia and primary immune disorders that are delivered worldwide. This grant will help train 20 new and 483 existing employees at its facility in Bradley. This funding comes as a part of Opportunity Returns, the Governor’s pro-active, comprehensive economic development strategy designed to continue growing the economy and creating better jobs throughout Northeast Illinois.
“There’s no greater resource for any business than its people, and there’s no better way to continue expanding our economy than by investing in the skills of our workers. By making these kinds of investments, we are helping companies like ZLB Behring compete at home and across the world and create more high-paying jobs,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is administering the grant, which is being awarded through the Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP), to train employees in company and industry specific areas of information technology, quality-ISO-safety and technical workplace skills. Employees are represented by the International Chemicals Workers’ Union Local 498C. ETIP is a new generation of employer-focused, customized training grants created through the “21st Century Jobs” Training Initiative, which reimburses companies and organizations for up to 50 percent of the costs of training their employees.
“We are committed to enhancing the training of our most valuable resource, our employees,” said Randy Furby, General Manager of the Kankakee plant. “I am grateful to Governor Blagojevich and the State of Illinois for providing this support.”
“In order to advance our workforce in this fast paced, global economy, we must invest the resources to keep our working men and women on the cutting edge. Governor Blagojevich understands exactly what businesses need to stay competitive, and my thanks to DCEO for providing this assistance to a exemplary company like ZLB Behring,” State Senator Debbie Halvorson (D-Chicago Heights) said.
ZLB Behring is a global leader in the plasma protein biotherapeutics industry. Dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients throughout the world, ZLB Behring provides safe and effective plasma-derived and recombinant products and offers patients a wide range of related services. The company's broad portfolio of life-
saving therapeutics is used in the treatment of individuals with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, immune
deficiency disorders, and inherited emphysema, for the prevention of hemolytic diseases for the newborn, in cardiac surgery patients and in shock and burn victims.
“Gov. Blagojevich and I have been committed to enhancing the skills of our workforce and supporting the assets that are the most desirable to business. The ETIP program continues to serve as an enormous resource for companies such as ZLB Behring, which is helping them increase productivity, reduce costs and enhance competitiveness in today’s ultra-competitive, global economy,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich recently announced that Illinois added 31,100 new jobs in July, which was the best in the nation that month. This is the second time this year Illinois has created more new jobs than any other state, which has never happened before in recorded history. Illinois also led the nation in job growth in April. The total number of new jobs created this year is 75,200, which is the best start to a year since 1998 and more new jobs than any Midwest state. Since January 2004, Illinois has gained more than 150,000 new jobs, which is also best in the Midwest. The Illinois unemployment rate has been below or the same as the U.S. unemployment rate since May 2006, the first time this has happened in seven years. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security compiled these statistics.
Site Selection Magazine recently rated the Chicagoland metro area number one in the country in attracting new and expanded corporate facilities, while the entire state was ranked third nationally.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.