The James Irvine Foundation gave the Chaffey College Foundation in Rancho Cucamonga a $1.3-million grant. The college foundation aims to use the grant to provide technical training and paid internships through the Industrial Technical Learning Center (InTech) in Fontana. 

Inland Empire grant funds to plug the skills gap & provide paid internships

In 2018, a Deloitte study showed that up to 2.4M manufacturing jobs may go unfulfilled by 2028 due to a skills gap. As a result, there is a huge opportunity for low-income Inland Empire residents to benefit from this grant. Interestingly, in IE’s regional companies, students who complete one of InTech’s technical training programs will be eligible for a 160-hour paid internship at $18 an hour.

“The grant will help InTech to rapidly rebuild the region’s economy by providing skilled employees for in-demand industrial automation careers’, ‘said Sandra Sisco, director of Chaffey College economic development and the InTech Center. 

Inland Empire is a hub of industrial activity. Investors are funding startups, especially from the industrial and manufacturing category. A completed training program can easily open doors for manufacturing and logistics automation jobs, including welding, industrial maintenance, robotics, and cybersecurity.

Learn more, Earn more 

The InTech Center is a venture between Chaffey College and California Steel Industries, Inc. (CSI) to provide technical training in additive manufacturing, HVAC-R, construction and forklift, and other industrial automation operations. 

The Center is set to build talent pools with skills relevant to today’s business needs. A recent survey by Student Loan Hero revealed that “the average student who borrows to attend college graduates with nearly $29,000 in student loan debt“. InTech provides a faster and cheaper alternative to a college degree by upskilling Inland Empire’s youth for industrial automation and digitally-native jobs.

Useful resources

• Industrial Technical Learning Center
• Apprenticeship Search Tool by California Department of Industrial Relations 
• Career Technical Education (CTE) & Training by San Bernardino Valley College
• LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network, Inland Empire
• California Steel Industries
• America’s Skills Gap: Why it’s real and why it matters. 
• 2018 skills gap in manufacturing study | Deloitte Perspectives
• Inland Empire Electrical Apprenticeship