At a special called board meeting, TC Trustees received notice of funding through the Carl D. Perkins Basic Grant Program in the amount of $379,488 for the 2020-21 academic year to allow for the purchase of training equipment for TC’s career and technical education programs. Brandon Washington, VP of Operations and Dean of Workforce and Community & Business Education, said that when writing the grant request, his top priority was to request funds to support the training needs of area business and industry.
“The funds will be used to invest in the future workforce of our region,” said Washington. “Our industry partners tell us there is a need of skilled machinists to fill vacant positions. We took note of their concern and aligned our grant request with their needs. The workforce data we studied to prepare the grant request showed that approximately two-thirds of the nation’s manufacturers are currently looking to hire skilled computer numerical controlled (CNC) machinists. By providing this training at TC, it is a win for job-seekers, incumbent workers, and manufacturers in our area.”
Washington said instruction will be taught on the new training equipment through TC’s Industrial Maintenance program, one of TC’s flagship programs housed in the brand-new Ledwell Workforce Training Center on TC campus.
