Eighteen community colleges will join a new initiative to close advanced manufacturing industry gaps.
The EmployED Initiative is managed by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) with funding from General Motors (GM). The initiative is funding projects at AACC member colleges to support efforts to align community college talent with industry needs.
This work is a “high priority for AACC,” said AACC President and CEO DeRionne Pollard.
“We are proud to work with General Motors in building and sustaining workforce pipelines, while advancing promising practices that support both our students and our economy,” she said.
The colleges selected for the project are:
- Baton Rouge Community College (Louisiana)
- Bronx Community College (New York)
- Chippewa Valley Technical College (Wisconsin)
- Community College of Baltimore County (Maryland)
- Flathead Valley Community College (Montana)
- Greenville Technical College (South Carolina)
- Ivy Tech Community College – Fort Wayne/Kosciusko Campus (Indiana)
- Linn-Benton Community College (Oregon)
- Long Beach Community College District
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Mississippi)
- Mott Community College (Michigan)
- Olive Harvey College (Illinois)
- Owens State Community College (Ohio)
- Piedmont Virginia Community College (Virginia)
- South Texas College
- St. Charles Community College (Missouri)
- Riverland Community College (Minnesota)
- Walla Walla Community College (Washington)
AACC will facilitate three learning cohorts with the colleges focused on:
- Early career and technical skill exposure
- Community college advanced manufacturing and associated career and technical programs
- Colleges engaged in electric vehicle-related programs
The goal of the cohorts is to identify and elevate promising practices that deepen industry-relevant talent in advanced manufacturing. AACC will share lessons learned with its member colleges.
“General Motors recognizes the urgent need for workforce development nationwide,” said David Massaron, GM vice president for infrastructure and corporate citizenship, noting the initiative will empower colleges with programs that create career pathways in manufacturing, IT, supply chain and logistics, automotive maintenance and construction.
The initiative builds on a previous AACC/GM project that worked with community colleges to identify specific industry skills needed for employee success.
