Northland Community and Technical College was recently informed that it will be receiving a $4.7 million grant for targeted job training and workforce development. The grant will be used to support NCTC’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Technician program. The grant is a part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Initiative, and will allow students at Northland Community and Technical College to expand their knowledge and expertise in the rapidly growing unmanned aircraft systems industry. The TAACCCT Initiative was put in place to help equip workers with specific skill sets that will be useful in critical industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
This recent grant is not the first receive by NCTC. Back in 2010, NCTC received a $4.9 million federal grant to develop and deliver the country’s first unmanned UAS Maintenance Training Center. The first class associated with this program began in August of 2011.
Currently, the unmanned aircraft industry is fastest growing technology within the aviation industry. With the United States military purchasing a record number of unmanned aircraft and training more pilots to fly these unmanned aircrafts than real aircraft, it is easy to see why there is such a large need to improve the current technology that is in place. Also, based on recent studies, it estimated that more than 23,000 jobs will be created between the years 2010 and 2025 within the unmanned aircraft systems industry. As one of the fastest growing industries in the country, the TAACCCT Initiative is more than happy to support the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance technician programme at NCTC.
Source: Press Release