Time to do the happy dance.

On Sept. 19, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced $500 million in grants to community colleges and universities around the country, including $12 million to a consortium led by Northern Virginia Community College for an initiative called “Credentials to Careers.”

The grants are part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Community College and Career Training initiative which promotes skills development and employment opportunities in fields such as advanced manufacturing, transportation and health care, as well as science, technology, engineering and math careers through partnerships between training providers and local employers. The U.S. Department of Labor is implementing and administering the program in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education.

“NOVA is partnering with six community colleges across the nation, as well as a number of national nonprofits, in an initiative to help foreign trade-impacted and other adult workers find meaningful employment in STEM careers,” said NOVA President Robert G. Templin Jr. “We are thankful for the funding from the U.S. Department of Labor that will make this important effort possible.”

The consortium will develop the capacity of participating community colleges to deliver STEM education and career training programs to TAA-eligible workers in each of seven regions which currently rank among the top high-tech employment centers. The initiative will also enhance, expand and create replicable best-in-class practices and strategies designed to prepare TAA-eligible workers and others for high-wage, high-skill jobs and credentials in STEM industries. In addition, the program will serve as the catalyst for innovation and economic growth in the regions and beyond.

Three of the consortium members are located in STEM growth regions: Northern Virginia (NOVA), Austin (Austin Community College) and Seattle (Shoreline Community College). The additional consortium members are located in regions battered by trade-displaced layoffs that also have regional industry needs for a skilled and educated STEM workforce: Los Angeles (Los Angeles Trade Technical College), Southwest Virginia (Virginia Western Community College), and the Michigan communities of Muskegon and Flint (Muskegon Community College and Mott Community College). The consortium will also be working with important national strategic partners.

Credentials to Careers will show how community colleges working with nonprofit workforce development partners and local STEM employers can quickly scale-up high-performing education and training programs to prepare TAA-impacted workers and other adult workers for fast-growing STEM occupational clusters.

For further information please contact Deborah Rosen, director of grants and special projects, at drosen@nvcc.edu.

Northern Virginia Community College is the largest institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and one of America’s largest community colleges. NOVA enrolls more than 75,000 students at its six campuses in Alexandria, Annandale, Loudoun, Manassas, Springfield and Woodbridge, and through the Extended Learning Institute.

By: Contributing Author

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