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Learning Center Serves Meriden Businesses
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Business New Haven
3/19/2001
By: Priscilla Searles
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MERIDEN - Founded in 1998 as a collaboration involving city, state and private sector enterprises, the Meriden Business & Learning Center (MBLC) focuses on job-training and business-development needs in greater Meriden. Located at 500 South Broad Street, the center was founded in 1998.
“Originally the center focused on Meriden exclusively, but our board has expanded our mission to serve our neighboring communities,” explains Vincent Nolan, its executive director. The center itself occupies about 11,000 square feet, much of which is occupied by Middlesex Community College and Meriden Adult Education. The balance is used for specific business training.
“We are a single point of contact for businesses large and small to find the training that they need for their employees,” says Nolan. “We're not tied to one training provider; what we do is find the appropriate trainer for the specific need. That's the heart of the mission, finding the right training resource to help the specific business.
0Nolan says. “In addition, we have developed our catalogue training program to serve the small-business community that never has quite enough critical mass to run training programs of their own.”
The “catalogue” classes - e.g., specific computer training, blueprint-reading or basic business writing - are open enrollment so each course is sold a seat at a time, giving small companies an opportunity to train as few workers as one at an affordable cost. Most small companies would find it difficult if not impossible to train one or two employees on an outsource basis.
The array of services offered by the center is wide. “We provide all levels of training and related development services,” says Nolan. “We actually do some on-site development work. For example, a local company asked us to develop a work order computer application using a Microsoft product and customize it to their needs and then train their people in the use of it. We also do some workforce-development consulting.”
Always seeking to expand its offerings, MBLC has partnered with the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration and the Connecticut Small Business Development Centers to offer classes to local residents interested in small business. The partnership will begin in earnest this spring with two course offerings.
A three hour introductory small business workshop, “Fundamentals of Planning Your Business,” will take place on March 28. It's designed for individuals either thinking of starting a business or in the business-plan stage. The course, which will be held at the center from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and costs $25 per person.
April will bring a certificate program, “Planning Your Business for Growth and Success.” The ten-hour course will provide an in-depth overview of the steps involved in creating a successful business plan. Attendees will learn how to prepare an actual business plan for their own businesses.
“We're very excited about this new collaboration with UConn,” explains Nolan. “It is one additional component in our continuing effort to serve the training and development needs of local business. First, we brought Middlesex Community College to Meriden, and now we add UConn. We hope that collaboration with other institutions of higher learning will follow. Of course, the Meriden Board of Education remains a primary stakeholder in the center and will continue to provide appropriate services.”
For particulars about the center's programs call 203-639-0320.
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