Northern Michigan University received a big chunk of federal Recovery Act funding to bulk up its job training program for electrical power technicians in Marquette.
U.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced this month NMU would receive $673,462 for its Electrical Power Technician job training program. The funding is part of an U.S. Department of Energy initiative to use stimulus, or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, money to develop workforce training for infrastructure in the electric power sector.
The program is one of 54 "smart grid" training programs in 33 states being awarded a total of almost $100 million in stimulus funds through the DOE. The goal of the added funding is to help prepare workers for the utility and electrical manufacturing industries, using new strategies, curricula and training methods related to the future of the U.S. electric power structure and the smart grid.
Electricians, line workers, technicians, system operators, power system engineers, cyber-security specialists, and transmission planners are all targets of the training program. The initiative also supports the development of cross-disciplinary electric power system programs at the university and college level.
"As we work to update and expand infrastructure in northern Michigan, including our electrical power sector, this funding will make sure workers receive the training and skills necessary to fill jobs in these fields," Stupak said in a statement. "Northern Michigan University consistently shows itself to be a leader in advanced job training; a reputation that will continue to grow as a result of this stimulus funding for its Electrical Power Technician training program."
The university will direct the funding toward developing and enhancing its Electric Power Technician workforce training program, which is designed to provide the knowledge and skills required for an entry-level technician in the electrical power industry.
"Northern Michigan University is very proud of the work being done in our electrical power technician program. Graduates are getting the necessary skills and securing excellent jobs in a critical sector of our economy. We're also grateful for the support Congressman Stupak provided," said NMU President Les Wong in a statement.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Northern Michigan University
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