WVC receives $700,000 Air Washington grant

Wenatchee Valley College will receive $700,000 over the next three years for aerospace education and training.  The funds are WVC’s share of a $20 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to Air Washington, a consortium of 14 colleges, two aerospace companies and an aerospace apprenticeship committee.

The Air Washington consortium aims to meet Washington State’s growing workforce demands identified by employer partners in the aerospace industry sectors of advanced manufacturing/machining, aircraft assembly, aircraft maintenance, composites and electronics.  Air Washington training initiatives will focus on degrees or certificates in such programs as avionics, computer-assisted drafting and design, CNC machinist, computer software engineering, electronics, hydraulic and pneumatic automation, and welding. 

WVC will use the grant to train more students in the electronics field on both the Omak and Wenatchee campuses, offer support services to students in the program and support the aerospace industry.  The WVC Industrial Technology-Electronics program provides an associate of technical science degree.

Spokane Community College is the lead agency in the grant proposal and will receive $5.8 million. The grant is the first installment of a $2 billion, four-year federal investment in jobs programs.  The funds can be used only for aerospace education.