Oregon

Ontario, OR - Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) was established in 1962 in Ontario, Oregon. Its service area includes Malheur County in Oregon and three adjoining counties in Idaho – Canyon, Payette, and Washington. The College has four locations in Eastern Oregon and one (Caldwell Center) in Western Idaho and serves as the educational and cultural hub of Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho. It provides education and workforce development services to 7,000 students annually. Approximately 60 percent of these students are residents of the State of Idaho. The region is rural, culturally diverse, and economically distressed. Malheur County has one of the lowest population densities in the country at 3.2 people per square mile. The low density and lengthy travel times have long challenged the region’s ability to deliver relevant workforce development programs and services.

In September 2017, EDA invested $3,000,000 in Public Works funds to TVCC to allow the college to leverage Oregon State funds to remodel and increase from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet an existing Vo-Tech facility in order to create an expansive Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center. An upgraded and expanded facility will increase the college’s capacity to provide more opportunities for hands-on learning as well as space to introduce emerging industry-driven training needs. During its first year of operation, the principal curricula at the new facility will include welding and metals fabrication, industrial control systems, natural resource systems and agriculture technology. In recent years TVCC has successfully partnered with regional industry leaders, local districts, and high schools to start building quality career and technical education programs that connect skills and education to emerging industry needs in the region.

The new CTE Center will provide industry-driven curriculum and hands-on training that is specific to private-sector workforce demands in the region. Students will benefit from on-the-job training opportunities and direct pathways from education to higher-skill, higher-wage employment opportunities. In addition, unemployed and underemployed persons in the region will have local access to advanced training via video at select community locations. Before the EDA investment, the College’s Vo-Tech program served about 150 students annually but the new facility will allow the College to add two additional CTE programs to serve 240 students in three years. Given the addition of 3-4 more curricula tracks by year five, the Center will be providing education opportunities and outsource services to about 300 students annually. This increased capacity will effectively double the number of well-trained workers available to meet regional workforce demands.