ASU-Beebe Searcy Campus, ASU-Mountain Home Receive Grants for Robotics, Marine Manufacturing Training
03/17/2022
JONESBORO, Ark. – Gov. Asa Hutchinson awarded $8 million in grants to economic and workforce development partnerships to create training opportunities for in-demand skills and certifications, including programs at Arkansas State University-Beebe and ASU-Mountain Home.
Robotics, cyber security, rural forestry, and truck driver training are just some of the workforce initiatives around the state receiving grant funding from the Office of Skills Development (OSD), a division of the Department of Commerce.
ASU-Beebe Searcy campus was awarded $686,661 to develop a curriculum designed to prepare students who wish to become Robotics Technicians. With curricular support from ASU-Beebe’s Industrial Technology, CNC, and Welding Technology programs, participants will be trained to engineer and operate automated manufacturing, specifically at local companies such as St. Jean Industries, Lomanco, and others.
ASU-Mountain Home was awarded $1.2 million for development of a composites program that serves marine manufacturing. The program, designed in collaboration with local boat manufacturers, prepares graduates to work locally at companies like Ranger, Vexus, Basscat and Shawnee Boats.
Grant recipients submitted projects to the OSD in January, and those chosen presented their initiatives to the Career Education and Workforce Development Board (CEWD) in February, “shark tank” style. The CEWD Board selected projects in varying amounts based on their specific training program, industry sector of focus, and regional needs.
“It is critical for the state to invest in workforce development to help private industry and public education prepare for the future,” said Commerce Secretary Mike Preston. “Instead of short-term intervention to relieve an immediate crisis or need, the strategy of the Arkansas Department of Commerce is to be proactive, helping to fund innovative programs that anticipate future workforce needs. The over $8 million in grants awarded today support programs that focus on providing training for in-demand skills that will benefit Arkansas for generations to come.”
OSD will distribute and monitor grant funding and program outcomes over the course of the grants. OSD strategically invests in all levels of the Arkansas workforce, from students to incumbent workers, by raising education and skill levels, meeting the needs of companies operating in Arkansas, balancing workforce and employer interests, leading to greater economic achievement for workers and companies.
