Berlin, NH – White Mountains Community College (WMCC) recently partnered with Genfoot, a Canadian-owned factory in Littleton that manufactures rubber and sewn boots, to offer a Frontline Management Essentials course to groom and prepare Genfoot’s shift leaders for career advancement within the company. Eight Genfoot shift leaders completed the course in November and are now prepared to share new concepts with leaders and fellow crew members.
“Because of the necessary skills needed for Genfoot’s exclusive technology, it’s been difficult to hire outward,” said Mark Bonta, plant manager. “By partnering with WMCC to create a workforce development program, we are investing in the personal career goals of our people and the quality of our culture and are grooming our younger generation to be successful and ready for promotion.”
The Frontline Management Essentials is an 18-hour course that takes six weeks to complete. The course covers the importance of human factors that transition from frontline to management, successful steps for supervision, creating a culture of respect and the difference between management and leadership.
The leadership course is designed to help current employees become more qualified for management positions that open in the future. Upon completing the course, students receive a certificate and a congratulatory letter from the divisional vice president of manufacturing.
“Being a frontline manager requires having technical skills as well as people skills to create a thriving workplace culture,” said Tamara Roberge, coordinator of workforce development and community education at White Mountains Community College. “We were happy to partner with Genfoot and offer a Frontline Management Essentials program for employees to sharpen their skills as they work towards transitioning from frontline manager to leader.”
Genfoot developed an in-house workforce development program five years ago while the company continued searching for a more advanced, official leadership training program to fill the gaps. Genfoot will continue to build upon its partnership with WMCC and has plans to launch another leadership course in the spring of 2021. To learn more about workforce development and community education opportunities, contact Tamara Roberge at 603-342-3062 or [email protected].
Photo from L-R: Genfoot’s Alan Demers, Dan Matarazzo, Jessica Clough, Aaron Bonta, Darren Peavey, Meghan Basnar, Dan Smith and Robin Stevens who completed White Mountain Community College’s Frontline Management Essentials course.
About White Mountains Community College
White Mountains Community College (WMCC) is located in Berlin, New Hampshire with satellite campuses in Littleton and North Conway, and is one of seven colleges in the Community College System of New Hampshire. WMCC offers Associate Degree and Certificate programs, plus training options, preparing students for 21st century job opportunities as well as transfer pathways to four-year colleges and universities. WMCC is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Our courses are the most affordable in New Hampshire and our Littleton Academic Center makes us accessible to all students in the North Country Region. Courses are available day, evening and online. WMCC courses transfer to four-year colleges and universities in New Hampshire and across the country. The seven community colleges in the system are committed to working with businesses throughout the state to train and retain employees to develop a robust workforce across all sectors and embraces the “65 by 25 Initiative,” which calls for 65% of NH citizens to have some form of postsecondary education by 2025 to meet future workforce demands.
