Press Release
U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $3.1 Million to Help Establish Manufacturing Apprentice Academy in Virginia
Contact: EDA Public Affairs Department, (202) 482-4085
December 21, 2017
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $3.1 million grant to the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) of Disputanta, Virginia, to help build the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing Apprentice Academy in Prince George County.
“President Trump believes that apprenticeships are critical to helping fuel the future growth of the economy,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, along with local leaders, have worked to establish a new apprentice academy that will help ensure a modernized local labor force for years to come.”
The project will help build a fifty-three thousand square foot building expansion to house the Apprentice Academy. The building will include classroom space, administrative support space, a break room, restrooms, and a high bay training area. In 2011, EDA invested nearly $4 million to in the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville to help establish CCAM, a joint project between UVA and Virginia Tech to provide supply chain and workforce training to support advanced technology manufacturing and the growth of new jobs in the region.
This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Crater Planning District Commission. EDA funds the Crater Planning District Commission to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.