Training Displaced Workers for Jobs in Manufacturing

The City of Fremont, California, saw an opportunity to remedy a difficult problem. In the San Francisco Bay area, 20,900 jobs were lost due to the impact of COVID-19. At the same time, companies were ramping up to produce products to fight the pandemic. Manufacturing companies such as Evolve Manufacturing Technologies, Inc, began producing rapid COVID-19 test kits, ventilators, and COVID-19 treatment equipment last spring needed help. The company had hired 100 people but needed more. So the City of Fremont Economic Development Department came up with a solution to begin to address the issue of finding jobs for those displaced by the pandemic. On March 5 it launched the Earn and Learn Fremont (ELF) Pilot Program to help those without jobs – especially people of color and low-income groups – to jumpstart a new career in advanced manufacturing.