Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced the federal investment will provide a boost to the college's new Applied Technology Education Center (ATEC) by directly supporting construction of the new Automotive Technical Services Class Laboratories and Drive Aisles Wing, which will provide HVCC students with the necessary resources and hands on training to secure good-paying auto industry jobs.
"Hudson Valley Community College start your engines because I am proud to help deliver the $4 million in federal funding to finally greenlight the college's brand new Applied Technology Education Center and its Automotive Technical Services Class Laboratories," Schumer said in a press release. "This funding will give our students the tools and hands-on experience to get good-paying jobs in the auto industry and put our students in the Capital Region on the road to success.
"The new automotive workforce training facility is the boost HVCC has needed to further help fill in-demand jobs, and pretty soon a whole new class of students will be riding off with the skills they need to build a better life for themselves here in the Capital Region."
"Hudson Valley Community College is sincerely grateful to US Senator Chuck Schumer for his leadership and support in securing funds for our new Applied Technology Education Center (ATEC)," Hudson Valley Community College President Dr. Roger Ramsammy added in the release. "Senator Schumer has been a longtime advocate of the college, and we are thankful that he recognizes the significant benefit this new workforce training center will create for our students, employers, community and economy.
"ATEC will change the future of workforce training and become a model for educational institutions around the country, and we are thrilled to have his support in such an important endeavor."
Schumer said the funding will allow Hudson Valley Community College to construct a new approximately 125,000 square foot ATEC to provide the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed in evolving technical industries. The new facility will include specialized laboratories and classrooms with advanced tools, equipment, and technology, including state-of-the-art laboratory spaces.
The EDA investment will support the interior fit-out of three ATS Classroom Laboratories and Drive Aisles: an Automotive Laboratory where students manage and operate a repair facility under expert supervision; a Powertrains Laboratory where students learn to diagnose, repair, and rebuild transmissions; and an Engines Laboratory where students learn to diagnose, repair, and rebuild gasoline combustion engines.
The investment is expected to create 70 jobs and generate $112 million in private investment, according to the release.
Schumer noted the project will provide vital support to Upstate New York's automotive industry, as the only hands-on electric vehicle workforce education and training facility in New York's Greater Capital Region. This will result in not only newly constructed, state-of-the-art facilities, but also increased capacity in the region to train more future technicians, and opportunities for students and trainees to learn on industry-standard technology and equipment.
HVCC currently offers the region's only associate's degree and certificate programs in Electrical and Autonomous Vehicles (EAV), and new credit-based micro-credentials, non-credit bootcamps, apprenticeship opportunities, and short-term training models are planned. Schumer said this EDA funding is key to enhancing the college's facilities and making them a leader on the path to a cleaner and greener future.
The ATEC project is expected to increase student access to 10 education and training programs, empowering more individuals, particularly unemployed and low-income individuals in the region, to secure employment in highly-skilled, good-paying technician jobs. ATEC's increased capacity will have the potential to add 15,000 technicians to New York's workforce by 2035, providing welcome relief to the region's critical skilled labor shortage.
Some 46,000 automotive service technicians and mechanics will be needed to fill roles through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at a time when the skills gap and worker shortage is particularly acute for blue-collar jobs. As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases, a workforce with the knowledge to fix and properly maintain them will be needed.
The ATS Class Laboratories and Drive Aisles Wing of the ATEC center is the economic development solution needed to strengthen and increase the talent pool for new economy occupations.
©2023 The Saratogian, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
