The Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology has awarded a total of $335,975 in Workforce Challenge Grants to Nevada’s community colleges.
Nearly half the total went to Western Nevada College in Carson City. The school received $150,000 to build a Mechatronics Training Center and implement the Siemens Mechatronics certified curriculum. That will make WNC the only Siemens certified training center in the western U.S.
It will train students on advanced automated systems used in manufacturing beginning in the fall of 2016.
Truckee Meadows Community College received $149,435 to develop a new training program in collaboration with Switch. Students will be trained in the operation and maintenance of commercial heating and cooling systems.
Switch will donate a cooling tower to TMCC so students can work with the same equipment in class they will use if and when they are hired by Switch.
The final $36,540 will go to Nevada State College to increase the number of STEM teachers in rural parts of the state. The funding will convert traditional courses into online and interactive video formats.
