COLLEGE TO GET $1 MILLION FOR JOBS TRAINING.

Byline: Daily News

VALENCIA - College of the Canyons has received three state grants totaling more than $1 million for training in digital manufacturing, biotechnology and welding.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office awarded $525,903 for the California Alliance for Digital Manufacturing project, $311,078 for the 126 Biology Corridor project and $179,139 for the Pipe Welding project.

``This is a particularly exciting accomplishment, not only for College of the Canyons, but also for area businesses in a number of different industries,'' said Dena Maloney, dean of economic development. ``The grants will fund needed training, build the capacity of the college to develop new training programs, and serve to enhance the effectiveness of the local work force.''

Through a partnership composed of College of the Canyons, Riverside Community College and Saddleback College in Orange County, along with industry partnerships, the California Alliance for Digital Manufacturing project will support the industry in an eight-county region of Southern California representing the highest concentration of manufacturing activity in the United States.

Three digital manufacturing labs and instructional programs will be created to meet the need of engineering technicians skilled in digital manufacturing machinery and operations. The project also will provide training and support for small businesses in integrating digital manufacturing practices into their operations and link to high school and college programs to encourage engineering program enrollment. It also will provide access to digital manufacturing equipment not otherwise available.

Partnering with the colleges are the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, the city of Santa Clarita, the Orange County Business Council, Sony Corp., 3D Systems of Valencia and the Los Angeles County Business Technology Center.

In the 126 Biology Corridor project, College of the Canyons and Ventura College have partnered to create a comprehensive biotechnology training resource to prepare highly skilled, specialized biological technicians to support the rapid growth of the biotechnology industry in California.

The project is named for State Highway 126, which connects Santa Clarita, home of College of the Canyons, and Ventura, home of Ventura College. This region is also the location of the most explosive growth in California's biotechnology industry.

The project will result in the development of educational laboratories in the Santa Clarita and Ventura areas. In Ventura, the project will develop a fermentation lab to prepare students for biotech positions in agriculture and the life sciences. In Santa Clarita, the project will support the development of a clean-room laboratory to teach students clean-room skills needed for the life sciences, medical and medical device manufacturing industries.

The project will address a need in the biotechnology industry sector of the economy by addressing a chronic shortage of qualified entry-level and advanced biological technicians with specialized skills. Biotechnology is the directed modification or use of biological processes. Applications of biotechnology in society include agriculture, medicine, disease treatment, environmental projection and national security.

The Pipe Welding project has been developed in direct response to strong need expressed by regional industry and is based on the college's current welding program certificate, degree, courses and experience. It will result in a new 12-station pipe-welding laboratory, new pipe-welding curriculum and program certification by the American Welding Society.

Welding and joining technologies are used extensively in commercial and defense manufacturing.

``These grants represent a major step forward in the continued economic development of our community,'' Maloney said.