Henry Ford Community College received a $15 Million grant from the Department of Labor that will be put toward a specialized training program for manufacturing at the college. President Gail Mee hosted a round table panel of businesses, legislatures, and community leaders who discussed plans for the funds. The round table participants described the distinctive opportunities the federal grant will provide for the Dearborn area and manufacturing industry across the nation. HFCC will be the lead community college in twelve-college consortium using this grant.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) Program is allowing HFCC to purchase 13 manufacturing simulators that give students hands-on exposure to equipment and the process of manufacturing in this age. Deputy Director of White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, Roy Kojo Jawara (‘Jay’) Williams, said the grants represent the Obama administration’s commitment to manufacturing.
“Investment… in manufacturing in of itself is not enough,” said Williams. “That’s why we see the investment in community colleges because it provides opportunities for community colleges that are stakeholders in many of the communities across the country... (to work with the business stakeholders)...The investment in community college stakeholders provides opportunities . . . to work with the business community to make sure there are opportunities for nontraditional students; for the underserved; for the unemployed and underemployed; for our veterans to gain skill sets that are relevant to manufacturing today.”
The world has become global. World economies have made adept changes in their technology and education. If America wants to resume its leadership position and become competitive in world trade, it will need to invest in education and re-education at multiple levels. How HFCC will address this task was brought out in a slide that explained the new age simulator. It pointed out that the faculty will have to be trained in the new skills acknowledged as crucial the education and training by the business representatives as well as the others on the panel.
“Educational institutions (are to) use these funds to create affordable training programs that meet industry needs, invest in staff and educational resources, and provide access to free, digital learning materials. All education materials developed through the grants will be available for use by the public and other education providers through a Creative Commons license,” said a September 19 ETA news release. “These grants emphasize evidence-based program design. Each grantee is required to collect rigorous student outcome data annually and conduct final evaluations at the end of the grant period to build knowledge about which strategies are most effective in placing graduates in jobs.”
HFCC will be the lead college in implementing the new training model for manufacturing. Senator Dingell along with the other panel participants commended President Mee on her diligent efforts in making a submission for receiving the grant. This grant will allow for HFFC to update its technology and educational curriculum.
The twelve colleges included in this training impetus who are sharing the grant are Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan.