CAREERS special edition QR code for Portland Observer Online ‘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