Gateway To Use $2.74 Million TAACCCT Grant to Add Logistics Training and Grow Manufacturing, Related Programs

Gateway Community & Technical College said today a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Labor grant awarded last week will enable the college to expand capacity in programs that prepare workers for high-paying, high-skilled jobs in local industries.

We will use the grant to purchase new equipment for capacity expansion, create new career pathways and credentials, and enhance our efforts to reduce the gap between trained workers and jobs that are unfilled due to a lack of skilled applicants, said Gateway President/CEO Ed Hughes.

The grant project, known as Innovative Multi-industry Partnership and Career Training (IMPACT), aligns extremely well with ongoing efforts to strengthen the pipeline of skilled manufacturing workers and also with our VETS education and training program, Hughes added.

Project IMPACT is aimed at increasing the number of students who become industry certified in advanced manufacturing, utilities, transportation, logistics, and construction trades. The grant will enable Gateway to add new programs for commercial drivers license and logistics for the first time and expand existing programs in computerized manufacturing and machining, electrical technology, energy technologies, HVAC, industrial maintenance, manufacturing engineering technology, and welding technology.

The result will be a larger number of stackable and latticed credentials that build toward associate degrees and link to job ladders in specific industries.

The project is designed to increase the number of people obtaining associate degrees, short-term credentials and industry certification; better prepare veterans and others for high-demand, high-skill jobs in the targeted industries; and serve employer needs for a well-qualified workforce, Hughes said. We will collaborate with a wide range of industry, workforce and community partners to reach these goals.

Partners involved in the project include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Mazak, MAG, Verst Group Logistics, Duke Energy, Cincinnati Bell, Workman HVAC, the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board, Kentucky Energy Workforce Development Consortium, Kentucky Energy Sector Partnership, the Gateway VETS advisory board, Partners for a Competitive Workforce, Fiber Optic Association, and Northern Kentucky Industrial Park Association.

Partner cooperation and input was invaluable in preparing the grant application, which was written by a team led by Dr. Amber Decker, Gateway director of grants and contracts, Hughes said. We applaud the teams successful effort to bring this investment to the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati workforce.

The Gateway award and a grant of similar size to Cincinnati State Technical and Community College resulted in a combined federal investment of $5.5 million in our region from the DOLs Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program. That is a significant endorsement of collaborative efforts to improve the local economy, Hughes added.

Gateway was one of only two colleges in Kentucky to receive funding from the latest round of TAACCCT grants. West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah will receive $2.75 million as part of a nine-college, multi-state grant led by an Illinois institution.