SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES JOB TRAINING PROGRAM GRANT TO CONCORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today announced the New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI), Concord’s Community College as the recipient of a $2.5 million job-training grant from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) competitive grant program. The grant will support a project to create new certificate and associate degree programs in information technology (IT). The new programs, designed in partnership with employers, will expand job seekers’ ability to access training and career pathways to high-growth potential industries that require IT skills, such as health care, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Earlier this year, Shaheen wrote Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez in support of NHTI’s grant application. She is also cosponsoring legislation to reauthorize the TAACCCT grant program.

“This investment in NHTI is great news for New Hampshire job seekers and our economy,” Shaheen said. “There is a growing need for highly-skilled workers trained in information technology, and this grant will help our community colleges partner with employers and develop educational pathways to prepare Granite Staters for the kind of in-demand jobs that are an important part of our state’s future.”

The $2.5 million grant comes from the TAACCCT competitive grant program, and will go toward an NHTI project to develop, improve and expand adult educational training pathways to careers in multiple industries that require certified information technology skills and knowledge. NHTI will create a Common Core IT Curriculum certificate and associate degree programs in IT in fields including cyber security, networking and game programming, with the goal of expanding these programs to the six other campuses in the Community College System of New Hampshire. 

“The grant will enable us to build upon very strong information technology programs here at NHTI,” said Susan Dunton, president of NHTI, Concord’s Community College. “We will expand IT programming with industry-recognized, stackable credentials; create an Industrial Design Technology program that builds upon our advanced manufacturing curriculum; expand industry partnerships with the game programming industry; and enhance academic and career advising to strengthen pathways to careers. This will create exciting new opportunities for students and strengthen the workforce pipeline for New Hampshire employers. I thank the team here at NHTI who put an extraordinary amount of work into developing this grant and successfully bringing these resources to New Hampshire. ”

“New Hampshire’s community colleges are committed to enhancing pathways in high-skill, high-demand and high-paying fields to strengthen New Hampshire’s economy and support the economic advancement of New Hampshire communities and residents. This grant reflects our continuing effort to ensure that our state benefits from opportunities at the federal level,” said CCSNH Chancellor Ross Gittell.

Shaheen has made promoting job creation and economic growth in New Hampshire a top priority throughout her career. She has been a strong advocate for workforce training programs that give American workers the knowledge and skills needed to compete for quality jobs, and has introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Thad Cochran (R-MI), the On-the-Job Training Act, to help Americans obtain employment and learn the skills they need to keep it. Earlier this year, Congress passed bipartisan legislation improving the nation’s workforce development system and prioritizing the on-the-job training programs Shaheen has championed.