By Billy Davis

Governor Haley Barbour will visit the GE Aviation plant in Batesville next week to welcome participants in a workforce training program.

The event, scheduled for June 9, will be at 2:30 p.m.

The governor, during his visit, will view D-STAMP, a workforce training program targeting businesses and workers in the Mississippi Delta.  

D-STAMP, the Disadvantages Short-Term Advanced Manufacturing Program, is a mobile job training initiative that will work with Delta companies at no cost to quickly train workers for highly skilled jobs.  

Barbour funded the program through a $300,000 grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. D-STAMP will be administered by Time Wise Management Systems, a ‘lean business’ consulting company.

The governor’s visit coincides with a doubling of the workforce at GE this year, with plans to hire 120 employees  “to handle our increasing workload,” said plant leader Jeanne Edwards.

“Time Wise will help us train these new employees to ensure they have the right skills that they need to succeed in their new jobs,” she said.

D-STAMP will be at GE Aviation from June 1 to June 11.

The traveling unit is equipped with the latest industrial technology where participants learn practical manufacturing skills during t two weeks of intense training.

D-STAMP’s mobility can bring training to Delta companies where jobs and potential employees are located, including an employer’s plant site.

“D-STAMP is for entry-level workers who want to go into manufacturing,” commented Mitzi Woods, Delta Workforce Investment Area director.