REGIONAL- Representatives of the Blandin Foundation and Minnesota North College held an online news conference on Tuesday to announce their collaboration in a new regional job training initiative, AspireNORTH, an innovative program intended to reach underserved populations and bring them into college classes with an array of supports to prepare them for high-paying jobs to meet the workforce needs of the regional economy.
The Blandin Foundation is investing $3 million in AspireNORTH, a program that Blandin Foundation President and CEO Tuleah Palmer believes can be a serious game-changer for the region.
“We’ve taken a bold step with this grant, enabling the leadership of MN North to think big and truly redesign how their system serves this region of the state,’’ Palmer said. ‘’Right now, our approaches leave behind more workers than we help. AspireNORTH will shift the approach from focusing on how the individual is performing within the system to focusing on how the system is performing for the individual. That requires a whole new framework of regional coordination and leadership to build prosperity for our marginalized workers and keep our wealth of knowledge and money close to home.”
Dr. Michael Raich, President of Minnesota North College, said the funds will pave the way for expanded opportunities that will benefit new students and businesses alike.
“We are extremely pleased that they found the work that we want to do worthy of the work that they want to do,” Raich said. “Blandin’s investment in Minnesota North College’s AspireNORTH project will significantly strengthen our ability to attract and robustly support traditionally underrepresented students in our region by meeting them where they are at as they balance their learning, work, and other responsibilities. In turn, our local business and industries will ultimately benefit from a larger and more diverse group of skilled graduates.”
Dr. Jessalyn Sabin, academic dean of career and tech education and director of operations at MN North’s Mesabi Range-Eveleth campus, said that traditional approaches aren’t reaching many nontraditional students.
“The demographics are telling us that we have to be doing something different to see different results,” said.
The combination of Hibbing Community College, Itasca Community College, Rainy River Community College, Vermilion Community College, and Mesabi Range College campuses in Virginia and Eveleth to create Minnesota North College provides new ways for the unified institution to deliver educational services. Major courses of study formerly available at only one or two colleges can now be offered at other campus through alternative delivery methods, including distance learning. The college’s Applied Learning Institute will focus on career/technical education careers, and the Customized Training Solutions Department will be able to provide “just in time” training tailored to the needs of regional employers.
AspireNORTH will primarily be seeking out students who for whatever reason may not have considered college to be an option. The program will reach out to communities such as Native American families, women, disconnected youth, public assistance recipients, and veterans.
A critical issue to student success is keeping students engaged, and to do that Minnesota North will be providing wraparound services to address things that create obstacles to that. Working with individuals to tailor solutions to their unique needs, the college will have options for academic support, career navigation, transportation, childcare, and mental health services.
“What the AspireNORTH grant does is it effectively creates a student-centered, individualized approach to meeting people where they’re at, and the way we do that is really a start to finish type of project,” Raich said.
In a release accompanying the news conference, first-year plans for the program are described as adding an American Indian Education coordinator, a career navigation coordinator, and bolstering mental health supports. Trauma-informed training will be provided to current staff to recognize signs of life challenges like homelessness, mental health emergencies and substance use, and training in cultural competency and adult learning theory will connect students with resources that help them reach their career goals.
“We want to encourage people to participate in learning at some level, whether that’s a short-term course for certification or completing a two-year degree,” said Dr. Trent Janezich, executive director of advancement and customized training solutions at MN North College. “This grant allows us to welcome people who haven’t participated before.”
Current and future employment needs are great. About two jobs are open for every available worker in the region right now, while the labor participation rate of 57 percent is 12 percent lower than that of the state overall. Improved employment and better wages obtained as a result of AspireNORTH training could help to alleviate a portion of the region’s 11.2 percent poverty rate, almost two points higher than the statewide figure.
“There’s definitely an intangible economic impact,” said Dr. Jessalyn Sabin, academic dean of career and tech education. “The opportunity for workers to train in something new, to change and adapt their knowledge and skills, builds hope and vitality in a community – and this can happen at any stage of your career.”
Palmer said the foundation is pleased to partner in a consolidated regional approach to education that aligns with the foundation’s mission.
“We’re committed to the regional capacity building for a leadership systems change and engaging rural students where they’re at, and addressing the needs of the workforce that has the needs for an on ramp into community as well as additional capacity building opportunities for regionalism in rural Minnesota,” Palmer said.
Blandin Foundation is a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. One of a handful of rural-based, rural-serving foundations in the country, Blandin Foundation serves rural Minnesota, focusing resources in north-central Minnesota. The foundation’s grants, opportunities that connect rural leaders, and policy work build up financial and human capital, so rural Minnesota places can welcome diversity, address injustice, and embrace change to create a sustainable and equitable future.