U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez recently called community colleges the “secret sauce” of economic and workforce development. In his talk at the National Governors Association summer conference in West Virginia, he used Front Range Community College as his example of “the secret sauce.”

Filling the Pipeline with Skilled Manufacturing Workers

To flesh out Secretary Perez’s comments about FRCC’s Precision Machining Program, FRCC is the lead college for a $25 million grant under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Act. The grant is intended to develop a pipeline of skilled manufacturing workers.

FRCC used about $10 million of the grant to open a Machining and Advanced Manufacturing Program at an Advanced Technology Center at the Boulder County Campus in Longmont.

Businesses & Community Colleges Work Together

As Secretary Perez notes, the level of engagement by businesses is an important factor in developing a successful education curriculum. Manufacturers in northern Colorado played a large part in designing the Advanced Technology Center, from what machines to put in place to what content to teach.

It’s paying off. Seventeen year-old Wynnston Corona went directly from FRCC to Cutter Innovations.

Training Power-Plant Operators

Another portion of the grant was used to purchase a steam turbine power plant and associated equipment that has been installed at Colorado State University’s Powerhouse Energy Campus at 430 N. College Ave. in Fort Collins.

Community College Graduates All Around You

It’s not just in these industry sectors that FRCC and other community colleges add the secret sauce.

From Small to Large Businesses You’ll Find the Secret Sauce

Community college graduates are your architectural drafters, your auto mechanics, your CAD technicians, your computer technicians, your network technicians, your EMTs, your GIS technicians, your HVAC technicians, your nurse aides, your pharmacy technicians, your veterinary technicians, your welders, and so much more.

The Secretary of Labor has visited companies and community colleges throughout the United States and has seen how they work together. He knows that community colleges are a key ingredient in the recipe for economic success.

Related Posts