Contacts: Kathy Cullen, 608-266-9399, kathleen.cullen@wtcsystem.edu
Media line info: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722
MADISON – Wisconsin’s skilled workforce will benefit from $18.3 million in new federal funds awarded to improve and enhance job training, with $17.9 million targeted to innovative worker training for high skilled jobs in advanced manufacturing.
“These awards demonstrate federal recognition of Wisconsin’s leadership in successfully using innovative methods to improve the availability and quality of Wisconsin’s skilled workforce,” said Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Vice president for Teaching and Learning Kathleen Cullen. “By focusing on training Wisconsin workers for advanced manufacturing, we continue the long WTCS tradition as a major contributor to the growth of Wisconsin’s business climate. I want to personally thank the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development for its support in receiving these grants.”
“We are pleased to work with the technical colleges on this initiative,” Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson said. “The manufacturing sector has seen the addition of thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs since Governor Walker took office, and we look forward to continued collaborations with the technical colleges, private-sector employers and other partners to address the skills gap and to grow Wisconsin’s economy.”
The 16 colleges that make up the WTCS will share a $14.9 million grant award for the four-year “Making the Future” project to develop, expand and improve advanced manufacturing career pathways. “This grant award is an example of the strength that comes from the 16 WTCS colleges working together to leverage new resources that will help our individual colleges focus on the best strategies to meet the specific local and regional needs of our business and industry partners,” said Jeff Rafn, President of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, which is serving as the consortium leader for the “Making the Future” project.
Fox Valley Technical College will receive a separate $2,999,750 grant for its Advanced Manufacturing Pathways Plus (AMP Plus) to expand flexible learning options in four advanced manufacturing pathways to meet the needs of employers and retrain dislocated workers in the Fox Valley area. Madison Area Technical College will receive $412,736 as part of a separate multi-state consortium lead by Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina, focusing on bioscience competencies in laboratory skills.
The federal grants were awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grants and include rigorous outcome evaluation requirements. All education materials developed through the grants will be available for use by the public and other education providers. Additional information about the grants is available from the U.S. Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20121885.htm.
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About the Wisconsin Technical College System:
The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) offers more than 300 programs awarding two-year associate degrees, one- and two-year technical diplomas and short-term technical diplomas. In addition, the System is the major provider of customized training and technical assistance to Wisconsin’s business and industry community. More than 370,000 individuals access the technical colleges for education and training each year.
