WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski along with Congressman John Delaney (all D-Md.) today announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded a $42,780 federal grant to Allegany Community College, also called the Allegany College of Maryland (ACM), for the ACM Automotive Technology Workforce Development. The program will serve 25 businesses and enroll 25 students and 15 workers in the first year.
“To maintain our position as the world’s strongest economy we need to continue to educate and train the American workforce,” said Senator Cardin. “This investment by ARC will directly support more than a dozen new jobs today, and, by educating more than two dozen students, even more family-wage jobs tomorrow. I will continue to work in the Senate to fund this kind of innovative, job creating, public-private partnership.”
“This grant is jobs, jobs, jobs in Western Maryland,” Senator Mikulski said. “The ACM Automotive Technology Workforce Development program will forge public and private partnerships between students, educational institutions and local businesses. Together, they’ll create new jobs, train the next generation for jobs tomorrow and grow Western Maryland’s economy.”
“I’m happy to congratulate Allegany College of Maryland on receiving a workforce development grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission,” said Congressman Delaney. “This grant helps to ensure that students at ACM receive a state-of-the-art education, investing in an institution that has helped to prepare generation after generation of Marylanders for success in the workforce. As we search for ways to strengthen our economic competitiveness, I’m proud to see ARC and ACM helping us meet the challenge of training the future of the American workforce.”
Allegany Community College offers two-year and one-year career path courses of study in Automotive Technology. The program will serve 25 businesses and will enroll 25 students and 15 workers in the first year. The funding will also assist the college in purchasing state-of-the-art equipment for use in both the one-year certificate and two-year degree training programs. The equipment to be ordered in a combination of the diagnostic and repair tools found in modern auto service centers and simulators that provide students experience with several types of systems that are typically not available for training purposes. Following the updates, the college will be better able to prepare new workers and upgrade the skills of those already in the workforce.
In addition to ARC funds, local sources will provide $42,780, bringing total funding for the project to $85,560.
Senators Cardin and Mikulski have been leading supporters of the ARC Commission in the U.S. Senate. In recognition of his support of regional economic development and the ARC, Senator Cardin received the 2012 Congressional Award from the Development District Association of Appalachia.
