Funding for Community Colleges enhances manufacturing education.
Press Release Summary:
Over $175 million in funding, announced by U.S. Department of Labor, will enable community colleges to grow and enhance their manufacturing education and training programs. Part of $500 million 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grants Program awards, this funding will enable students to earn skills needed to advance in manufacturing jobs as well as help schools build quality, relevant manufacturing programs.
Original Press Release:
Over $175 Million Announced for Manufacturing Education Programs
Support will help increase the number of individuals with industry-based certifications that make them eligible for in-demand manufacturing jobs
Washington, D.C.:Â The United States Department of Labor announced yesterday over $175 million in funding for community colleges to grow and enhance their manufacturing education and training programs. The funding is part of the $500 million 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grants Program awards.
Access to talented individuals with a high-quality education and advanced skills is critical to manufacturers’ capacity for innovation and business success. “With the skills gap in manufacturing at an all-time high, and 600,000 jobs going unfilled as a result, these grants will enable students to earn the skills they need to access and advance in manufacturing jobs,” said Jennifer McNelly, president, The Manufacturing Institute. “It will also support schools in building quality, relevant manufacturing programs that offer individuals industry-based certifications.”
The Manufacturing Institute continues to work in communities across the country to help manufacturers partner with community and technical colleges to attract, qualify, and develop world-class manufacturing talent. This funding will allow for community and technical colleges to align their programs of study to the standards of industry-based credentials, increasing the number of individuals with certifications that make them eligible for in-demand manufacturing jobs.
This funding amplifies early work of the Institute in several communities, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, Alcoa Foundation, and Joyce Foundation to expand manufacturing education pathways in community and technical colleges through the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System. These programs help get unemployed Americans back to work, allow individuals to advance in their career and higher education goals, and prepare new talent for high-quality manufacturing jobs.
About The Manufacturing Institute
The Manufacturing Institute (the Institute) is the 501 (c) 3 affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. As a non-partisan organization, the Institute is committed to delivering leading-edge information and services to the nation's manufacturers. The Institute is the authority for American manufacturing on the attraction, qualification, and development of world-class talent. Visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org.
