El Paso Community College (EPCC) will use a $85,521 Texas Workforce Commission grant to provide specialized training for an area business.
The college will work with Bain Enterprises, LLC, to provide more than 980 hours of training for the upskilling of 102 new and current employees at the company. The grant will cover tuition and fees, instructional costs, curriculum development, books and administrative costs.
“This is extremely important,” EPCC President William Serrata said. “It keeps business and industry thriving in our community, it gives workers stronger skills so they can earn higher wages and expand their professional expertise.”
* * *
Odessa College’s safety institute got a boost with a $100,00 grant from Texas Mutual Insurance Company.
The safety institute provides workplace safety courses for employers, workers and the general public.
This is the seventh consecutive year that Texas Mutual has given a $100,000 grant to Odessa to support its safety training program. An initial grant in 2019 helped establish the safety institute.
Massachusetts
Gov. Maura Healey has awarded approximately $1.5 million in Training Resources and Internships Network (TRAIN) grants to provide essential training opportunities to over 500 unemployed and underemployed people across Massachusetts.
The grants will be administered through the state’s 15 public community colleges. They’re designed to equip adult workers with skills to thrive in key industry sectors.
“These TRAIN grants will connect hundreds of community college students to the skills, support, and opportunities they need to succeed in growing industries and help ensure our economy works for everyone,” Healey said in a statement.
Springfield Technical Community College received a $137,966 grant to expand its certified nursing assistant (CNA) training program. The CNA program is one of several healthcare-focused training opportunities being funded.
Northern Essex Community College will use its $110,453 grant to provide CNA and pharmacy technician training. North Shore Community College received a $122,558 grant to provide dental assisting training. And Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) will use an $85,033 grant to provide personal care aide training.
“By providing targeted skills training in high-demand fields, these grants empower individuals to secure meaningful careers and simultaneously strengthen the Massachusetts workforce, ensuring economic mobility and opportunity for all,” said Luis Pedraja, QCC president and chair of the Community College Council of Presidents.
Among the other training programs funded at community colleges are IT and cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, paraeducator and commercial driver’s license training.
Pennsylvania
Erie County Community College (EC3) has received a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to expand its capacity to offer its dual-credit programs to more local high school students for free.
EC3 will partner with 12 local school districts and two consortium partners on the program expansion. The program offers free tuition, textbooks and technology support to students to eliminate financial obstacles, as well as offer stipends to school districts for transportation.
* * *
Northampton Community College (NCC) has received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Rural Energy for America program.
With the funding, NCC and its Emerging Technology Applications Center (ETAC) aim to better serve agricultural producers and rural small businesses throughout Pennsylvania. ETAC provides no-cost technical assistance to identify and assess renewable energy alternatives.
ETAC team plans to travel across the state to provide businesses with economic and technical assessments unique to their operations, facilities and equipment.
This is the fourth grant ETAC has received through the Rural Energy for America program.
South Carolina
A $125,000 gift from an anonymous donor will provide critical support to incoming students at Central Carolina Technical College (CCTC) this fall.
The one-time gift will cover the cost of welding kits — valued at approximately $2,300 each — for all new welding students enrolling full-time in fall 2025. The donation also funds nursing kits for new nursing students and provides one pair of scrubs for each new student enrolling in CCTC’s health sciences programs.
The gift “sends a powerful message to prospective students that their success matters and that our community is invested in their future,” said CCTC President Kevin Pollock.
