Northern to receive over $1.7 million from grant

Montana State University-Northern will receive a $1.7 million grant to help training people for full-time jobs.

The Northern grant is part of a $25 million grant given to colleges around the state.

The goal of this, according to a press release, is to “train more than 9,000 Montanans to fill good-paying jobs in the rapidly growing advanced manufacturing and energy industries.

“The energy boom in eastern Montana is rapidly creating new job opportunities across our state, and this grant will make sure Montana workers have the skills and training they need to land those high-paying jobs,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who just wrapped his 6th Economic Development Summit in Butte.

“One of the messages we heard over and over at our jobs summit in Butte, is that creating new jobs in Montana doesn’t do us any good unless our workers are trained and ready to fill them. I’m proud of Montana colleges for stepping up to the plate to help make sure Montana jobs go to Montana workers,” Baucus said.

“The grant award will be used to promote skills development and employment opportunities in fields such as advanced manufacturing, transportation and health care, as well as science, technology, engineering and math career through partnerships between training providers and local employers.”

“Montanans must be trained with the skills to compete in the 21st century workforce,” Gov. Steve Bullock said in the press release. “Our two-year colleges play a crucial role in equipping our students with the skills and experience to meet the needs of employers wanting to do business in Montana. This grant will help our colleges (get) the resources they need to ensure they are training our students for the jobs that are in demand.”

The colleges that received the most funding from the grant are the Great Falls College, Fort Peck Community College, University of Montana Helena and the Flathead Valley Community College.

Havre’s MSU-N received the fourth-largest cut of the $25 million grant.

Jim Potter, director of University Relations, and Chancellor Jim Limbaugh were unavailable for comment this morning.