TMCC receives technology award of $400K
2004-01-12TMCC receives technology award of $400K
Source: Reno Gazette JournalAuthor: Ryan Randazzo
People in Northern Nevada who want to work in manufacturing soon will be able to earn a technology degree from Truckee Meadows Community College, thanks to a nearly $400,000 Congressional Award.
Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign announced the award Monday.
“It is critical that we diversify our economy in this state,” Ensign said. “One thing I always hear is, ‘What kind of workforce do you have?’”
Northern Nevada has the potential to attract more businesses to the region because of the tax structure, quality of life and workforce, he said.
“We just have to get those workers trained so businesses have people to hire when they come here,” he said.
More than 60 percent of companies’ officials are working to bring or expand in Northern Nevada are manufacturers, according to the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.
Nevada is the only state that has shown manufacturing job growth during the recent recession, according to the Nevada Manufacturing Association.
TMCC will use the money to create a new degree with two specialties for students to choose from: industrial controls and computer-aided manufacturing.
Part of the award also will help create a teaching assistant certificate at TMCC, which will soon be in high demand because of the federal “No Child Left Behind” act requirement that such workers earn more credentials, college officials said.
TMCC also will use some of the award money to create a Center for Teaching Excellence where instructors can get additional classroom technology training.
“The community colleges are an integral part of the economy in Northern Nevada,” Ensign said.
The new manufacturing degree will use some existing courses but make the students’ experience broader, Assistant Dean Richard Green said.
Two new labs will be built to support the degree.
“We are responding to skill sets identified by companies,” Green said.
Companies in Nevada are usually smaller than those in large cities, meaning their employees must take on a variety of tasks, Green said.
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