Latest News on the Workforce Innovation Grant Projects
HOMES Grant
Groundbreaking Held for Maple Wood Cottages Workforce Housing Project in St. Croix Falls
10/29/24
Northwood Technical College and Impact Seven, Inc. celebrated the groundbreaking of the Maple Wood Cottages workforce housing project in St. Croix Falls, a development that will provide 40 apartments and a community center focused on workforce training to address regional housing and job skills needs. Read More
Past News:
3/28/23 - New state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing lab is cause for celebration at Northwood Tech
3/28/23 - Northwood Tech Receives Box Truck for Mobile Industry 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Training
9/15/22 - Northwood Tech Hosts HOMES Grant Roundtable Event on Site Selection and Training
6/22/22 - Northwood Technical College presented a nearly $10 million workforce grant
RESTORE Grant
Northwood Technical College and St. Croix Central Collaborate on Manufacturing Skills Center to Enhance Workforce Development
11/12/24
Northwood Technical College and St. Croix Central High School have opened the St. Croix Manufacturing Skills Center to provide advanced manufacturing training and workforce solutions for the region. Learn more
Past News:
10/26/23 - Northwood Tech Celebrates New Mobile Welding Lab Generator | Fox21 Video Coverage
6/13/23 - Northwood Tech Celebrated Mobile Welding Lab’s First Graduates
4/14/23 - Governor Evers Tours Northwood Technical College's Mobile Welding Lab
3/27/23 - Completed Mobile Welding Trailer Delivered to Rice Lake Campus
12/22/21 - Northwood Tech is a Participant in $10M Workforce Innovation Grant Project
Training Opportunity Flyers
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Liz Pizzi, Associate Dean of Workforce and Community Development
Dan Miller, Associate Dean of Workforce and Community Development
BJ Williams, Associate Dean of Workforce and Community Development
About the Workforce Innovation Grants
- Housing Opportunity & Mobile Education Solutions (HOMES) Grant
- Download PDF on HOMES Grant
- HOMES provides sustainable affordable housing options and educational assets that will serve communities for decades to come. This unique partnership between Northwood Tech and Impact Seven will deploy workforce training and equipment while addressing a well-documented affordable housing shortage. The project will focus on unemployed and underemployed adults and underserved populations.
- Workforce challenges addressed:
- Individual advanced manufacturing industry training
- Affordable workforce housing
- Northwood Technical College will allocate $3.8 million for:
- Advanced mobile manufacturing equipment
- Training instructional costs at off-and on-campus locations
- Impact Seven will establish a $6 million workforce housing fund to:
- Reduce risk on housing projects for multi-family rental housing
- Feature workforce accelerators for on-site training
- Extend classroom space to locations where community workers can access an affordable housing option
- Leverage additional debt and/or equity capital
- The project will provide:
- Flexible training opportunities in advanced manufacturing certifications/credentials of Mechatronics, Smart Automation Certification Alliance, Robotics, and Machine Tool
- 2-3 new affordable workforce 30-40-unit multi-family housing sites (Site selection in progress)
- Collaboration opportunities with Northwood Tech district high school instructors on innovative teaching and technologies
- Advanced Manufacturing Virtual Reality Training to Northwood Tech district residents and businesses
- Grant Funding Statement
- The three-year, $9.8 million Housing Opportunity & Mobile Education Solutions (HOMES) project is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Impact Seven will provide an additional $20 million for sustainable affordable housing options within the district. Northwood Technical College will provide an additional $1.25 million to conduct advanced manufacturing training for underemployed, unemployed, and special population individuals.
- Restoring Employment through Support, Training, Outreach, Recruitment and Education (RESTORE) Grant
- Download PDF about Grant
- Northwood Tech is a sub-recipient of this grant and will focus on counties in the Northwood Tech District.
- The RESTORE grant addresses a key workforce challenge in Northwest Wisconsin of a lack of qualified workers in metal fabrication and maintenance across the manufacturing sector. The unique Northwood Tech and St. Croix Central High School partnership provides a dedicated space for manufacturing education. The project will focus on local industry needs and advanced manufacturing opportunities in rural communities.
- The project will provide:
- Certificates, technical diplomas and apprenticeships:
- Mechatronics Basics Dual Credit Academy
- Plastic Injection Mold Apprenticeship Program
- Plastic Injection Mold Certified Pre-Apprenticeship Program
- Mobile Welding Training Lab
- Stainless Steel Welding
- Shielded Metal Arc Welding
- Gas Metal Arc Welding
- Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
- Flux Cored Arc Welding
- Welding Maintenance and Fabrication
- Industry recognized credentials:
- MSSC Certified Production Technician
- FANUC Certified Robot Operator
- Key Partners Include:
- Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC)—Lead
- Northwood Technical College
- St. Croix Central School District
- Workforce Resource, Inc.
- West Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
- Momentum West Economic Development Organization
- Manufacturing Works
- Economic Development County Boards
- Local Manufacturers
- RESTORE Grant Funding Statement
- The 3-year, $1.2 million Restoring Employment through Support, Training, Outreach, Recruitment, and Education in Northwestern Wisconsin (RESTORE) project is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Northwood Technical College will provide an additional $1 million in grant support for training underemployed, unemployed, and special population individuals.
