** Yuma Sun: Ducey's workforce accelerators initiative partners industry and community colleges
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Sisko J. Stargazer
Yuma Sun ([link removed])
February 4, 2022
During his State of the State address, Governor Doug Ducey called for investments in Arizona’s workers through partnerships between industry leaders and Arizona’s community colleges. These investments are being referred to as workforce accelerators and involve the establishment of six advanced manufacturing training centers. The governor’s fiscal year budget for 2023 has proposed $30 million in federal resources for these accelerators.
During a conference call on Wednesday with Dr. Daniel Corr, president of Arizona Western College and chairman of the Arizona Community College Coordinating Council, and Sandra Watson, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Commerce Authority, Ducey remarked on the future of workforce development in Arizona and how these accelerators fit in the picture.
“Last month, we announced that we’ve created 400,000 jobs since 2015,” Ducey said. “We have 3 million jobs for the first time in the history of our state. Our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since before the Great Recession. And the biggest names in tech have chosen to set up shop and expand here in Arizona.”
Ducey referenced Leonardo Electronics, Lucid Motors and CP Technologies among these names, but said, “We can talk about technology jobs all day, but if you don’t have the people to fill those jobs, you’re not getting very far.”
This is why the governor said Arizona has been proactive in aligning industry with education. The workforce accelerators serve as a continuation of that trend.
“These state-of-the-art facilities will be administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority and train Arizonans in advanced engineering jobs,” Ducey said. “By investing in our community colleges, we’re investing in the worker.”
Sandra Watson from the Arizona Commerce Authority explained that these facilities will be designed as employer-driven training opportunities working in conjunction with community colleges. Community colleges will manage the accelerators, but employers will be actively involved. Watson expressed that these centers will be critical in maintaining a momentum in manufacturing success that the state is experiencing.
Corr explained that the state’s 10 community colleges look forward to meeting the challenge of further developing Arizona’s workforce.
“We’re not training people for yesterday’s jobs, we’re training them for tomorrow’s jobs,” he said.
Corr listed artificial intelligence, automation and cybersecurity among the demands that tomorrow’s jobs are making, and he explained that Arizona’s community colleges already provide a great deal of education and development opportunities in a diverse range of fields.
These fields include programs in healthcare, automotive, welding, technology, agriculture, aviation and more.
When asked about the situation at the border as it pertains to the workforce, Corr noted that AWC has a robust law enforcement training academy to which the governor had recently distributed $7.5 million. Additionally, AWC offers programs in fire science, administration of justice and becoming an emergency medical technician – all of which he stated play a more prominent role in a border community like Yuma.
And while prospective students may be unsure of what jobs they wish to pursue or what fields of study they’re interested in, Corr explained that Arizona’s community colleges are the perfect place to explore opportunities.
“Community colleges are designed to be all things to all people,” he said. “You might want to pursue an associate’s degree or transfer to a state university or complete training [for work certification] … Show up on the doorstep of a community college – there’s a little something for everyone.”
And as for the future of the workforce accelerators initiative as it pertains to Yuma, that remains to be seen. The locations for the six facilities have yet to be determined, but Corr has his sights on expanding the AWC Advanced Manufacturing Center at Wellton.
“We opened up in August of this year just because we saw the need,” he said. “That facility out in Wellton was very much underutilized with very little going on there. We retrofitted it into this facility. It’s really just taken off: we have over 200 people out there taking advanced classes.”
Millions have been invested into the facility and students are currently studying hydraulics, electronics, solar technology and chemistry, manufacturing and controls.
Corr is working hard to make the case that Yuma deserves one of those six facilities. AWC currently has one up and running and it’s prime for the expansion that the workforce accelerators initiative could bring.
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