Treasure Valley Community College in Oregon Breaks Ground on New Career and Technical Education Facility Funded by EDA

On January 23, 2020, Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) broke ground on their new Vo-Tech facility in Ontario, Oregon. The facility is being established using funds invested by EDA.

In September 2017, EDA invested $3 million in Public Works funds to TVCC to remodel and expand an existing Vo-Tech facility from 15,000 to 30,000 square feet in order to create the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center. Local companies have already committed to hiring trained workers from the program and the project, which was matched with more than $2.8 million in State funds and nearly $235,000 in local funds, is expected to leverage $1.2 million in private investment.

“This is the first time TVCC has received this prestigious grant and we are truly excited to put it into action,” said Dr. Dana Young, president and CEO of TVCC. “EDA’s support of the renovation and expansion of TVCC’s Career & Technical Education Center enables us to provide a state-of-the-art training center for students and our industry partners. This partnership between the State of Oregon, EDA and TVCC to construct this building is a collaborative investment in empowering our community to meet the changing workforce demands in our region. As stewards of these public dollars, TVCC is committed to ensuring we provide innovative classrooms, industry training space and additional partnership opportunities that support our efforts to be an economic engine in our community.”

The CTE Center 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.

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.

“This investment from EDA will allow TVCC to leverage state matching dollars and blend additional private and public sector resources to make this project a reality,” said Cathy Yasuda, Chief Development Officer and Foundation Executive Director at TVCC. “This new Career & Technical Education Center represents a collective impact effort to effect transformational change for our region by providing and supporting a well-trained workforce and meeting the needs of our local business and industry sectors.”

Before the EDA investment, the College’s Vo-Tech program served about 150 students annually. 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.

EDA’s Public Works program helps distressed communities revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry; encourage business expansion; diversify local economies; and generate or retain long-term, private-sector jobs and investment.

To learn more about EDA’s FY 2020 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs and current funding opportunities, visit: www.eda.gov/funding-opportunities.