Mass. Community Colleges awarded $20M workforce grant
Mount Wachusett and Quinsigamond community colleges will each receive $525,000 in federal funds to expand local workforce development programming with additional funds going to integrate and expand programming across the state’s community colleges.
A 15-member college consortium, led by Massasoit Community College, will receive $20 million out of $450 million distributed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for the fourth and final round of federal funding from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant (TAACCCT). The grant program is part of the 2010 Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which allocated $2 billion over four years to fund the TAACCCT program, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The consortium was the highest-funded of 66 U.S. DOL grants announced Monday. Cape Cod Community College received a grant of $2,471,478 for training students in aviation maintenance and avionics, bringing the total funding for Massachusetts to more than $22,400,000.
“This award will have an enormous impact for all community college students in the Commonwealth, and it will advance the collective mission of our 15 institutions to connect individuals with long-term employment and extended educational opportunities,” Dr. Charles Wall, president of Massasoit Community College (MCC), said in a release.
During the three-year grant period, 24 STEM degree options and 58 certificate programs will be created or enhanced through the funding, according to MCC. These programs will be in partnership with businesses, the Commonwealth’s workforce system, state universities and UMass.
Mount Wachusett Community College will use the funding to create and enhance certificate programs including career readiness, hospitality, cyber security and information technology, according to college officials.
Of the $20 million grant, $5 million will go towards a new Data Bus pilot program between the state’s community colleges, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the state’s workforce system. The pilot will integrate the state’s career centers and the community colleges, informing decisions around programming for unemployed and under-employed workers and students, according to MCC.
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