FBI Gets Microsoft Grant
Microsoft Corp. has bestowed a $115,000 grant on Los Angeles–based Fashion Business Inc. to be used for training displaced workers for apparel-industry jobs.
FBI received $48,000 in cash and $67,000 in software from the grant. The nonprofit organization will use the proceeds for a series of training workshops on computerized order processing and enterprise planning using the AIMS system.
Part of the criteria for obtaining the grant came from the fact that AIMS and partner Focal Technology Solutions Inc. are FBI members and incorporate Microsoft products within their framework.
“There is a lot of demand for workers who understand the business side of the apparel industry,” said AIMS President Henry Cherner. “AIMS is just the tools. Once they learn it, they can use almost any system.”
Cherner said a series of training workshops will take place in February at FBI. Aside from AIMS, participants will learn Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
“They need Excel for creating tech packs and Word for creating templates for [orders],” Cherner said.
The training will be especially beneficial for displaced workers, said Frances Harder, executive director of FBI. “We are trying to focus this effort especially on people who have lost their jobs,” she said. “It’s important during this economy for people to make themselves more valuable, and this can help.”
For more information, visit www.fashionbizinc.org. —Robert McAllister
