MATC RECIEVES $2 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT
TO PROVIDE LABORATORY TECHNICIAN SKILLS TRAINING TO AREA WORKERS
Madison Area Technical College (MATC) has won a highly competitive grant for nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Community-based Job Training Grants. MATC was one of only 72 institutions to receive the grant out of 429 applicants.
The grants are employer-focused and designed to strengthen the role of community colleges in promoting the potential of the U.S. workforce. The funding will be used to develop and implement a “career-ladder” strategy for laboratory technicians, train 435 workers in the field and expand training facilities and programs.
According to industry experts, Dane County will continue to experience job growth in the area of biotechnology and laboratory sciences and increased demand for workers trained in laboratory technology. The grant is part of an initiative to train recent high school and high school equivalency graduates, displaced workers and workers currently employed in entry-level positions at laboratories.
MATC, along with its partners in the grant application, including Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin (WDB), the University of Wisconsin and area employers including Covance and Promega, will develop job-specific curriculum. The grant also provides for new lab space and equipment at the Technology, Education, Commerce (T.E.C.) Center located across from MATC’s Truax site.
“We are excited to be a part of this initiative and want to thank our partners for their help and cooperation,” states MATC President Bettsey Barhorst. “With this grant we will be able to offer training in an exciting and growing career field and meet the needs of area employers for highly skilled laboratory workers.”
Pat Schramm, executive director for the Workforce Development Board, agreed, “This is an emerging industry that will employ hundreds of workers in the future. Having a well-trained workforce will attract and keep companies in our state and help them grow.”
MATC’s customized training unit has been working closely with Covance and Promega and the University of Wisconsin to develop curriculum and prepare for the first group of workers to begin training in early January.
MATC is one of the largest of the Wisconsin Technical College System’s 16 colleges. It provides “real world smart” education through a comprehensive curriculum of technical, liberal arts and science, adult basic education and life enrichment studies and activities, as well as customized employee training. MATC offers associate degrees, vocational diplomas and certificates, and non-degree courses in more than 140 programs of study. The college serves parts of 12 counties in southcentral Wisconsin and offers instruction through five campuses and numerous community locations throughout the district.
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Last
Modified:
December 21, 2006
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