Employment Training Panel Provides Over $1 Million in Job Training Funds for Training at Former Site of Norton Air Force Base and in Santa Barbara

Business Wire, Oct 30, 1997

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 1997--The State's Employment Training Panel (ETP) announced today they awarded $1,077,246 to Santa Barbara Aerospace, Inc. (SBA) to retrain 599 of its employees of its facilities located at the San Bernardino International Airport and the Santa Barbara Airport, according to Clifford Cummings, panel member and San Bernardino businessman.

Santa Barbara Aerospace is an aircraft maintenance and repair service company that provides heavy maintenance, conversions, modifications, and interior reconfigurations for a variety of aircraft companies from all over the United States. its customers include Continental Airlines, United, Hawaiian Airlines, and Midwest Express.

SBA recently opened its second aircraft maintenance facility in San Bernardino, at the San Bernardino International Airport, which was formerly Norton Air Force Base. Its other maintenance facility is located adjacent to the Santa Barbara airport.

"This contract pinpoints the exact reason I am so pleased to be an Employment Training Panel member," Cummings said. "As the Inland Empire economy rebounds it is imperative we have effective representation at the State and Federal level in order to speed the job creation process by utilizing the appropriate government agencies to our fullest advantage."

Trainees will receive between 144-200 hours of training in such topics as Teamwork and Problem Solving, Production Technology, Office Automation, Supervisory Skills, and Workforce Communication. After retraining, frontline workers will have an increased responsibility in solving problems and making decisions. This training will help the company compete with out-of-state maintenance facilities in Washington, Alabama, and Arizona, and help the company become a high-performance workplace.

"We are giving this program our full support and look forward to success with it," said Robert Chickering, CEO/President of Santa Barbara Aerospace, Inc. "We hope it will help move other similar programs forward in California."

ETP is a business and labor supported state agency that reimburses California companies providing skills training to their employees.

Under ETP's various programs, eligible businesses apply to ETP for funds to reimburse them for training new and current employees. It is funded by the employment training tax paid by all California employers, and targets firms threatened by out of state and international competition.

CONTACTS: Charles Lundberg, 916/327-5261

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