In Washington, Pierce County is investing $300,000 in Clover Park Technical College’s workforce training programs. The funding will support the Lineworker & Arboriculture Scholarship Program and the Eastside Technical Bridge Program, creating pathways to careers in construction, utilities and related industries.
The funding will directly support 210 Clover Park students through scholarships and expanded access to hands-on technical training.
The $150,000 investment for the scholarship program will help students access training for high-wage careers in utility linework, electrical distribution, arboriculture — or tree management — and related fields essential to the region’s infrastructure. The $150,000 investment in the Eastside Technical Bridge Program will provide flexible evening and weekend training for residents interested in skilled-trade careers. Participants will gain foundational industry certifications required in the construction field as they quickly gain marketable skills.
County Executive Ryan Mello visited the college’s Eastside Training Center last month to announce the investment and highlight the county’s Building Together Initiative, which Mello says “strengthens economic opportunity for everyone by creating pathways to good-paying jobs that are right here where people are living and raising their families.”
California
Barstow Community College has received $970,000 through the California Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative to support facility improvements for its new workforce training center.
The investment comes at a pivotal moment as the college and the North High Desert see growing demand for skilled workers in fields like logistics, manufacturing and the trades.
Earlier this summer, Barstow Community College purchased the building that will become the workforce training center. The state’s $970,000 California Jobs First award will help the college move forward with transforming the building into a new workforce training center.
In the first five years after the building is completed, the center is expected to train between 900 and 1,200 workers for careers that pay well above the Inland Southern California self-sufficiency wage of $22 an hour.
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Moreno Valley College (MVC) is poised to receive approximately $25.4 million in state funding to support a STEM project. The funding also provides flexibility to address other campus needs.
The need for additional STEM space has grown as demand for science courses has increased following the opening of the college’s organic chemistry laboratory. Additional instructional space will help the college serve that demand, reducing the need for students to take science courses at other colleges in the Riverside Community College District.
The state funding award will allow the district to redirect bond funds identified for the STEM project toward other campus priorities. Those include breaking ground on a new Library Learning Resource Center, athletic field improvements, accessible parking upgrades, performing arts facility renovations and critical infrastructure improvements.
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Sierra College will lead the Capital Biomanufacturing Alliance (CAPBIO) Workforce Development Project, a workforce development and training initiative to grow biomanufacturing jobs in the Sacramento region. The college received nearly $1.4 million through the State of California’s Regional Investment Initiative.
Other CAPBIO Workforce partners are Los Rios Community College District, Capitol Impact and Valley Vision. The project is one of three strategies that are part of the “We Prosper Together” regional partnership, which was awarded a total of $7.3 million in state funding to grow the Sacramento region’s biomanufacturing industry.
Sierra College will work to build a pipeline of talented technicians. The funding will help to retrofit the college’s 60 mechatronics training stations with current industry platforms.
“Mechatronics is the on-ramp. A student who can keep an automated production line running can keep a bioreactor running — and that is exactly the technician our biomanufacturers cannot hire fast enough,” said Amy Schulz, executive dean of workforce and strategic initiatives at Sierra College.
Kentucky
Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) is celebrating a landmark $2 million commitment from the James A. and Martha R. Brown Charitable Foundation, the largest single philanthropic gift in the college’s history.
The investment will support the development of BCTC’s new workforce and healthcare education facility, which is being expanded into a regional hub for workforce training, nursing education and allied health instruction. In recognition of the foundation’s gift, the college will name the facility the James A. and Martha R. Brown Regional Workforce Training Center.
BCTC acquired the former Amazon Call Center facility in 2024 as part of a strategic expansion of its Winchester campus. The site is being transformed into a center that will serve students and industry partners throughout the Bluegrass region.
“The Brown Foundation’s leadership gift demonstrates what is possible when visionary philanthropy meets a critical community need,” said BCTC Chancellor Greg Feeney.
Louisiana
With a $149,000 investment from Sempra Infrastructure, SOWELA Technical Community College can continue to provide scholarships for students enrolled in industrial programs.
This marks the second consecutive year Sempra Infrastructure has contributed to SOWELA scholarships, bringing their total investment to over $249,000 and providing 20 students with financial support for their education.
“The strong partnership between SOWELA and Sempra Infrastructure is an excellent example of how industry and education can work together to provide the resources, training and support students need to successfully complete their programs of study,” said SOWELA Chancellor Neil Aspinwall.
Minnesota
A new scholarship at Ridgewater College will support law enforcement students.
The Legion of St. Michael Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club (LEMC) – Lakes Area Chapter has established the $10,000 endowed scholarship to honor the late Atwater Police Chief Trevor Berger, who passed away in 2022. It’s funded by the Schmidt-Berger Memorial Ride.
Lakes Area Chapter President Matt Ledeboer stated that the scholarship carries both professional and personal significance.
“As a non-traditional student going back to college in my 30s, I had kids, a mortgage and all of the normal responsibilities that don’t stop just because you decide to go back to school, scholarships helped me pay for the classes and other things I needed to get through school and start my career,” he said.
Oregon
An $11 million partnership between Portland Community College (PCC), the PCC Foundation, and the City of Portland’s Bureau of Fleet and Facilities will train more people to service electric vehicles, sophisticated building systems, and other clean-energy infrastructure.
This initiative, Project SHIFT (Sustainable HVAC, Infrastructure, and Fleet Technology), is funded through the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund grant. Established in 2025, Project SHIFT is expanding access to education in automotive service technology, diesel service technology, facilities maintenance, HVAC and pre-trades programs while developing new training in electric vehicle maintenance and building energy management.
“Project SHIFT connects students, especially those who have historically faced barriers, with the education, financial support and resources they need to move into family-wage careers,” said Pam Hester, program dean of PCC’s Community Workforce Development & Opportunity Centers. “At the same time, it helps our region build the skilled workforce needed to maintain electric vehicles, energy-efficient buildings and other clean technologies that will power a more sustainable future.”
Participants will receive help exploring career options, enrolling at PCC, paying for their education and accessing the resources they need to persist and complete their programs.
Rhode Island
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and the University of Rhode Island (URI) are partnering on a $4.6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant project to meet the demand for skilled engineers and technicians. The grant will support scholarships for high-achieving, low-income students pursuing degrees in engineering and engineering technology.
“Cost should never stand between a talented student and their future. This grant makes that future possible for Rhode Island students pursuing degrees in engineering and engineering technology,” said CCRI President Rosemary Costigan. “Through our partnership with URI, we’re building a talent pipeline into the advanced manufacturing, marine, and clean energy jobs that are shaping Rhode Island’s economy.”
A total of 116 scholars pursuing associate degrees in engineering technology at CCRI and bachelor’s degrees in engineering and engineering technology at URI will receive scholarships, along with mentoring and other support services.
South Carolina
Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) will use a $50,000 Welding Workforce Grant from the American Welding Society (AWS) to modernize its welding program. The grant will support equipment replacement and upgrades, shop safety improvements and increased access to hands-on training.
“These upgrades will give our students the opportunity to train on the same advanced equipment they will encounter in today’s workforce while learning in a safer and more efficient environment,” said Willis Ford, chair of FDTC’s welding department.
Once the new equipment is installed, FDTC welding faculty will train on it to ensure effective integration into classroom and lab instruction. Faculty will also update curriculum and lab activities to incorporate the new technology while emphasizing AWS-recommended practices, weld quality and workplace safety.
Wyoming
The Wiley King Foundation has donated $4,000 to the Casper College rodeo team. The funding will provide two $2,000 scholarships for two rodeo team members. The Wiley King Memorial Scholarship will be awarded for the 2027-2028 school year.
Savanah King, the wife of the late Wiley King, created the Wiley King Memorial Scholarship “to honor the life and legacy of Wiley King, a Wyoming-born and raised cowboy whose passion for rodeo and the outdoors left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him,” she said. “Wiley attended Casper College on a rodeo scholarship in 2012 and continued pursuing the sport and lifestyle he loved most.”
