Development grants benefit Dawson Community College

As a subcontractor for three grants that fall under the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development program, Dawson Community College is poised on the cutting edge of energy development in eastern Montana which earns them about $200,000 per year in funding.

By Margaret Brinkley
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

DCC benefits from a three-year $889,809 grant to create a cluster hub that provides a focused effort to train workers needed in the emerging biofuels energy field. The cluster hub will be based at DCC and is in partnership with Montana State University-Billings College of Technology and Fort Peck Community College to develop curriculum and training, said local grant administrator Bruce Bainbridge. DCC retains over $130,000 per year from this grant, he added. The rest is forwarded to MSU-Billings and Fort Peck Community College.

DCC’s role is to assist in the development of alternate energy sources, including wind, solar, biofuels and bioproducts, with the focus currently on biodiesel.

Areas for training under this funding include bio-fuels plant process operations, control, testing and instrumentation; safety and hazardous materials training and equipment operation; business management and soft skills training; machining; computer-aided drafting; welding; hydraulics and maintenance; and environmental issues and procedures in the bio-products field.

Biofuel plants need workers who can first help construct the plant and then workers to help run and maintain them once they begin production. DCC has vocational technology programs in place that can teach those skills.

Additionally, workshops in “soft skills” have been conducted and will continue to be offered on an ongoing basis. Soft skills are those skills workers need to understand how to communicate effectively with fellow workers and the public.

Accounting and small business evaluation is also part of the picture.

Safety and hazardous materials handling training will be done through partnership with Fort Peck Community College.

Regional seminars on OSHA standards in regard to basic workplace safety are also on the list for future implementation, Bainbridge said.

As a subcontractor with MSU-Billings College of Technology to focus on clean energy production, DCC earns about $50,000 per year of the approximately $2 million in funding, Bainbridge said.

DCC’s emphasis with this grant is in welding of stainless steel and pipeline as well as diesel mechanics and operations.

There are careers available in energy technology which include diesel and mechanical services, maintenance and repair, operations, process plant control, refineries, bioreactors and alcohol distilleries. With two to three years of education, a student can leave college and earn a starting wage of about $50,000 per year, Bainbridge said.

The third contract is between DCC and the University of Montana to partner an online associate degree in energy technology.

This program provides a two-year associate degree available through on-line education. The degree relates to production of wind, solar, and bio-fuels, Bainbridge said.

DCC’s role in this partnership is to provide courses and internships.

With eastern Montana moving toward developing wind farms in the future, these skills will be needed in this area.

The college is also benefitting from the additional students who are attending DCC as a result of funding provided for tuition and fees in those programs which would fall under energy production.

WIRED program funds are intended to provide a foundation on which to build for the future.

“The idea is to provide start up money for education, training, and workforce development until programs become self-sufficient,” Bainbridge concluded.

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