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NMC to build workforce training center using EDA’s $10.7M grant
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Thursday last week that the department’s Economic Development Administration is making a critical recovery award of $10.7 million using fiscal year 2019 Disaster Supplemental funds to Northern Marianas College on Saipan to construct a three-story, approximately 20,158 square foot, typhoon resistant, ADA-compliant Workforce Development and Training Center. The facility will house NMC’s nursing and business programs and Center for Innovation.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that Super Typhoon Yutu, the strongest typhoon to ever strike the Northern Mariana Islands, did over $800 million in damage to the Northern Mariana Islands.
The EDA-funded building, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, is expected to create 93 jobs.
“The Trump Administration is committed to helping businesses grow by supporting locally-driven workforce training initiatives,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “This project will provide the Northern Mariana Islands with the necessary workforce training facility to strengthen the economic resilience of the region that is vulnerable to natural disasters. The project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will drive additional private investment to the Northern Mariana Islands.”
“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in helping communities impacted by natural disasters not only rebuild, but rebuild stronger,” said Dana Gartzke, performing the delegated duties of the assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will help the Northern Mariana Islands respond to the economic impact of Super Typhoon Yutu by expanding the training of skilled workers to meet the current and future demands of local employers, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone is critical to enhancing economic development.” (PR)
