WATC receives grant to help with aviation training
September 27, 2012, 01:52 pm
Wichita Area Technical College in Kansas will share a grant worth $14.9 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to be develop standardized aviation training across the country. WATC will receive nearly $9 million of the money and will be put in charge of a group of community colleges.
Tony Kinkel, WATC president, said the money is a "massive" investment for Kansas and will serve as a major game changer. The other colleges receiving money are the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training; Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina.; Tulsa Community College in Tulsa; and Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington.
The money is part of the Obama administration's initiative to spend $500 million to support job training through employer partnerships.
“We see this as a great collaboration,” said Mel Cossette, executive director of the National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education.“Competition isn’t sometimes the best way to go. We’ll be working with the parts and pieces we each do very well. That’s the great thing about this grant: Every partner has something they do well.”
The money will be used to ramp up the skilled workforce across the country, providing training in various areas of study including quality and health safety, assembly mechanics, electrical assembly, composite repair, quality assurance and tooling. WATC says the training won't just help the general aviation community either.
"Learn hydraulics, electrical, engines, avionics, fuel systems and everything else it takes to keep high performance aircraft running smoothly," reads the WATC website. "And your options aren’t limited to aviation. Cruise lines, theme parks, NASCAR, wind farms all rely on A&P(Airfram and Powerplant) mechanics."
The website added the knowledge picked up in the program can be use for turbine engines and composite materials to ocean-faring ships, thrill rides, racecars, giant wind generators and more.
WATC president Tony Kinkel said the grant money will create new positions at the school including a project manager, an administrative assistant, a project coordinator, a fiscal coordinator and an instructional designer. Currently there are nearly 40 faculty and staff at WATC who support aviation training.
Kinkel added that the grant money will help propel the nation toward a more efficient foundation for manufacturing, primarily in the aviation community.
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