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Portland Observer
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‘City of Roses’
Volume XLV
Number 12
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • March 23, 2016
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo from the U niversity of s heffield in e ngland
Portland Community College has won support from the Oregon Legislature to build an educational facility to address a future workforce in high tech manufacturing similar
to the Advanced Manufacturing Resource Center (above) at the University of Sheffield in England.
Investing in Manufacturing Research
PCC wins support to build
center on apprenticeship model
Big news came out of the Oregon Leg-
islature with the announcement of $7.5
million to be appropriated to Portland
Community College for the creation of an
Advanced Manufacturing Research Center.
The project, built on the synergy of re-
gional industry, academia and government
stakeholders, is based in part on an appren-
ticeship model developed by Boeing and
the University of Sheffield in England to
address critical manufacturing challenges
through applied research and advanced
technical training.
The state’s investment will be added
to $9.4 million in bonding authority from
Portland Community College to support
educational opportunities in Columbia
County, west of Portland, where the center
would be located. Additional sources of fi-
nancial support potentially include private
and public investors and federal grants.
“This is an investment not just in high
tech manufacturing, but in our workforce,
in regional job growth, and our state’s
economic future,” said Gov. Kate Brown.
“Today we are taking an important step
forward, developing a world-class com-
munity where instruction, research, design,
and manufacturing intersect for the benefit
of all.”
Initial efforts will focus on training
for students through industry-sponsored
skilled apprenticeships that lead to postsec-
ondary credentials and family-wage jobs.
Gov. Kate Brown
C ontinUed on p age 4