Cummins Power Generation was named the 2016 Education Partner of the Year by the Women’s Business Development Center Minnesota (WBDC-MN). The WBDC-MN’s 10th annual celebration was held on March 3, and Cynthia Phillips, Diversity Procurement Manager, accepted the award on behalf of Cummins Power Generation.
This award recognizes the project management training and certification program that Cummins introduced in 2015, which is being extended into an annual program. “For us, this is more than an initiative; it’s about building a sustainable business which represents the world we live and work in,” Cynthia said. “We’ll continue to work closely with the WBDC by finding women-owned manufacturing businesses, who in turn help us develop and deliver world-class power generation equipment that is vital for our success and for that of our suppliers.”
The Women’s Business Development Center supports women business owners in their efforts to grow their enterprises. One way the organization does this is by facilitating relationships between women-owned businesses and corporations.
Similarly, the Supplier Diversity program at Cummins aims to increase opportunities for women-owned businesses and other diverse suppliers to provide products and services to the company. Also known as Diversity Procurement, Supplier Diversity is a key business strategy that advances Cummins' core value of diversity.
The project management training continues in 2016 with three sessions planned: Cummins Power Generation headquarters in Shoreview, Minnesota, in May; Kansas City, Missouri, in July; and Chicago in September.