Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, D-Pomona, secured $2.9M in state funding for Chaffey College to build a welding training facility. It will be built at ChaffeyCollege’ss InTech Center at Fontana.

“The new facility will be able to provide a permanent home for the welding class. Now it is an outdoor setup that tears down the structure and doesn’t end itself to use during inclement weather,” said Debbie Smith, administrator for the Chaffey College Industrial Technical Learning Center. The InTech Center is situated on the grounds of California Steel Industries.

We covered this in our Weekly Wire Round up.

Chaffey College Leads the Way in Obtaining Grants and Funding

We reported last week that Chaffey College also obtained a $1.3M grant from James Irvine Foundation to upskill deserving youth in the Inland Empire.

The latest state funding of $2.9M, along with a historic $25M gift from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott puts Chaffey College at the forefront of institutions that repeatedly receive funding.

Chaffey College especially supports students who are:

• Of color
• From low socioeconomic backgrounds
• The first in their families to go to college

Increased welding stations and the number of students enrolled

The new facility, slated for construction in 2022, will increase the number of students the college can enroll in its welding training program from 50 to 100 once it is operational.

It will also increase the number of welding stations from 12 to 16, reducing the number of students waiting for enrollment.

A Boom in Welding Jobs

“Welding jobs are expected to grow by 10% through 2022 in the region, with more than 20,000 job openings created between 2017 and 202″, according to Centers of Excellence, reports Steve Scauzillo of San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

You might wonder what benefit a certification from the welding training facility might draw. Apart from obtaining hands-on welding skills, students get a certification from the American Welding Association, which is essential for a welding job in the industry.

Other projects at Chaffey College

Apart from automation, cyber security, and welding job training, Chaffey College also imparts technical skills related to masonry and contraction.

The college trains students from the Inland Empire in its Masonry and Construction Careers Boot Camp in Fontana InTech Center. The center is a vital facility for the college to generate a workforce pipeline for business and industry in the Inland Empire region.