ETA News Release: [Dec. 07, 2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post or Public Affairs
Phone Number: 202-693-3984 or 202-693-4676
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces $1.6 Million Grant to Train Nebraska Workers for Advanced Manufacturing Careers
Grant Is Part of $24.2 Million Advanced Manufacturing Training Initiative
COLUMBUS, Neb. -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a $1,639,404 grant to train workers in Nebraska for careers in advanced manufacturing. The grant to Central Community College (CCC) is part of a $24.2 million advanced manufacturing workers training effort under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative which is helping workers prepare for and find jobs in America's fastest growing industries.
"New technologies are transforming industries and increasing demand for workers skilled in advanced manufacturing," said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "Nebraskans will benefit from the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative as workers are trained, students are inspired and the employers' needs for a highly skilled workforce are met."
CCC's Nebraska Mechatronics Education Center (MEC) will use the grant to provide workers with industry-driven mechatronics training leading to high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs. Mechatronics is the synergistic integration of multiple engineering disciplines, such as mechanical design, electronics and computer control, to produce new or improved devices and systems.
The Center will develop a unique curriculum that will be available to incumbent workers, new workers and college students through classroom and simulation training. To promote careers in advanced manufacturing, teachers and high school students will also have access to the innovative simulation software.
"Rising global competition, the rapid advancement of technology and an aging workforce have dramatically changed manufacturers' workforce needs," said DeRocco. "This grant will help create a pipeline of qualified workers for Nebraska's manufacturing sector while providing workers with the skills necessary to build strong careers in this evolving industry."
Key partners in this project include six Nebraska community colleges, ten Nebraska high schools, Behlen Mfg. Co., BD Medical Surgical Systems, Excel Corp., three four-year universities, Nebraska Workforce Investment Boards and government agencies.
Through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, the Department of Labor has been conducting executive forums with leaders of expanding industries to identify critical workforce gaps and issues. Solutions, like today's grant, are then created in cooperation with employers, education and the public workforce system. For more information, please visit www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/.
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