innovate arkansas

Arkansas Aerospace Consortium Gets $2.9M Grant

LITTLE ROCK – The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a $2.9 million dollar grant to the two-year colleges comprising Arkansas’ Aerospace Training Consortium.

The grant will support the development and expansion of Aerospace Industry skills training over the next 3 years. To obtain this grant, the colleges and several partner Aerospace/Aviation industries pledged nearly $1.8 million in matching in-kind funds. 

The focus of this project is to share resources among the colleges and partner industries to add instructors, equipment, and curriculum to coincide with new USDOL Aerospace Skills Competencies.

The consortium is led by the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC), with the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville as the lead institution in this grant.  Other participating institutions include Southern Arkansas University-Tech; Black River Technical College; National Park Community College; Rich Mountain Community College; Arkansas Northeastern College; Ouachita Technical College; and Arkansas State University-Beebe.

According to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the aerospace and aviation industry is now the largest export of Arkansas, with a growth rate of 28 percent in the last two years.  The industry is statewide, and wages are much higher than regional averages. 

Dr. Ed Franklin, Director of AATYC, commended the partnership success of Arkansas’ two-year colleges and local industries in bringing training for high-paid, high-skilled jobs to the state. 

“We could not have accomplished this without our consortium partners,” said Franklin, “and we are excited about the positive impact this booming industry will have on Arkansas.”

Consortium partners include the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the State Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Department of Aviation, the FAA, the Council for Adult Experiential Learning, and many Arkansas Aerospace/Aviation industry leaders.

For more information, contact AATYC at 501-371-0404.