Virginia has received a $5 million Department of Defense grant to train workers for Virginia’s defense manufacturing industries in Danville and Hampton Roads. The grant will go to the Virginia Defense Manufacturing Community, which brings together the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Southern Virginia, and Old Dominion University’s Maritime Industrial Base Ecosystem.
With the $5 million grant, the Virginia Defense Manufacturing Community will create a K-through-12-to-university training pipeline, helping students in the Danville and Norfolk areas gain the skills needed for defense manufacturing industries. It will ensure Virginia has the advanced workforce these industries require. The training pipeline will increase manufacturing capacity, capability, resiliency, and diversity in the maritime defense industrial base.
“This initiative presents a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our country’s defense workforce,” said Acting Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Kathleen Jabs. “The entire grant development process required and fostered collaboration among federal, state, and local entities as well as private businesses, academia, and regional economic alliances. We’re excited about the investment in the future beginning with Virginia’s youngest learners.”
The project will create a Manufacturing Engineering Technology community-college-to-university pathway that awards credentials to manufacturing engineers. Students will be introduced to the manufacturing workforce opportunities in elementary school. As they get older, they will have access to curriculums related to their preferred manufacturing discipline, and access to employment opportunities at the high school, community college, and university levels.
The grant will be invested over federal fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
Virginia Earns Defense Department Grant To Train Shipbuilding Workers
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