The GE Aerospace Foundation, an independent charitable organization of GE Aerospace, has announced plans to launce a five-year, $30 million workforce skills training program that seeks to address a domestic shortage of highly skilled manufacturing workers.
A recent study of the Aerospace Industry Association shows that 56 percent of companies have struggled to find skilled manufacturing talent, and the foundation believes that its new program could attract 10,000 new workers to the sector.
The work of the organization is dedicated to the purchase of new equipment, hiring instructors, expanding curricula, and reducing financial barriers for students to improve attraction rates. The foundation also announced $2.5 million in donations to support workforce training at educational institutions, which includes $250,000 each to Cincinnati State in Ohio and Tarrant County Community College in Texas, and $125,000 each to Vaughn College in New York and the University of the District of Columbia.
Previously, donations were made to the Advanced Manufacturing Training Expansion Program in Massachusetts, which reportedly features an 83 percent job placement rate across over 140 companies in the North Shore region, and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, to help start the Future of Manufacturing Fund, which addresses gaps in the advanced manufacturing workforce.
