Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Applauds $2.3 Million Grant to Support Missouri’s Energy Industry
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt announced that the University of Missouri has received more than $2.3 million from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration High Growth Job Training Initiative to develop a new associate’s degree program.
The grant will fund a University of Missouri partnership with colleges and utilities from five states to create the Center of Excellence for Radiation Protection Technology Education and Training. The center will develop and disseminate a degree program for a two-year associate of applied science degree in nuclear technology. In Missouri, Linn State Technical College’s Advanced Technology Center and Ameren will participate in the initiative to help ensure qualified workers are available to enter the energy industry.
"This is a significant grant that will help students gain specialized training before entering our growing state workforce," Blunt said. "Missouri’s economic diversity is one of its strengths and I am pleased that the federal government has recognized the efforts at our colleges and universities to enhance economic opportunities for all our state’s citizens."
According to the Department of Labor, the nuclear industry will need to attract thousands of new workers over the next 10 years to sustain the projected level of activity. Their data suggests that up to 57 percent of radiation protection technicians will retire in the next five years. The new program will help attract and prepare workers to meet the energy industry’s anticipated need for these specialists.
The High Growth Job Training Initiative supports comprehensive partnerships between employers, public workforce systems and other entities of the energy industry to address the changing workforce needs of the industry.
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