April 18, 2012

MIDDLETOWN MANUFACTURER QUALIFIES
FOR STATE JOB CREATION PROGRAM

State leaders visited Middletown manufacturer Royal Display today to highlight important new legislation that is helping small businesses expand and hire more workers.

State Sen. Paul Doyle (D-Wethersfield) and State Rep. Joseph Serra joined Department of Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall and Royal Display owner Rick Wright in touting the early success of the Subsidized Training & Employment Program. Step Up provides subsidies and grants to help businesses hire more people and so far has resulted in 73 new jobs at 50 companies across Connecticut.

One of those companies is Royal Display, a metal rack manufacturing company located in downtown Middletown that secured a Step Up grant to pay for training a new employee.

“Royal Display has been a respected part of Middletown’s business community for decades and is a great fit for the state’s new Step Up program,” said Rep. Serra. “The state is committed to encouraging economic growth through small business assistance, and I am happy to see another Middletown company taking advantage of these resources.”

“Step Up is an excellent program that gets to the heart of what drives economic recovery – job creation,” Sen. Doyle said. “Investing in quality small manufacturers gives business owners like Rick Wright the support they need to thrive and to spread their success around. I hope this is the start of a successful expansion for Royal Display and I urge other small business owners to follow in Rick’s footsteps.”

“Step Up gives our small businesses the helping hand they need to create jobs and grow their companies,” said Commissioner Marshall. “This program helps put people back to work and we are grateful to Governor Malloy and the General Assembly for having the vision to approve an initiative that benefits employers, jobseekers and Connecticut’s economy.”

“The Step Up program breaks out of the mold and directly supports small business at the ground level, and at the same time helps employment and in many cases gives the job seeker a second chance,” said Wright, owner of Royal Display. “We must somehow insert a catalyst into the system to spark economic growth in Connecticut and this is a step which gives some confidence in hiring at a much earlier stage than present. Every small business should give the step-up program a hard look.”

“We strongly support the Step Up program and thank Senator Doyle and Representative Serra for their leadership on this,” said . “We look forward to working with the business community through its implementation.”

Step Up provides two types of hiring incentives – a scaled, six-month wage subsidy and a small manufacturer training grant that provides up to $12,500 over a six-month period. In total, Step Up will provide $20 million in subsidies and training grants to help Connecticut small businesses hire more employees. Of the new jobs the program has helped create so far, positions include customer service representatives, machine operators, office assistants, carpenters, mechanics, equipment installers, shipping and receiving, fabricator, dispatch manager, tool grinders, help desk technicians and process engineers with hourly wages from $10 to $28.85.

To be eligible for either program, a company must employ less than 50 people and training must be provided at the business site. The new employee must be an unemployed jobseeker, and those hired under the wage subsidy program must meet certain income requirements and reside in specific areas, based on population or unemployment rates.

Small businesses and unemployed jobseekers seeking additional information on the Step Up program should visit the Connecticut Department of Labor’s website at http://ct.gov/dol/StepUp to download a fact sheet, contact information and inquiry forms.