Bank of America has invested $100,000 in a new short-term job training initiative developed by Augusta Technical College to address the local labor shortage.
The initiative is called FAST, which stands for Focused, Accelerated Skills Training. The college’s Corporate and Community Education Department will use the funding to cover the cost of three certification programs: Manufacturing Fundamentals Bootcamp, forklift and OSHA training, and medical scribe skills. It will also allow Augusta Tech to partner with local employers and WorkSource Georgia to provide job placement opportunities for graduates of these programs, as well as hiring a manufacturing instructor to teach classes and recruit new students who are either unemployed or underemployed.
The programs are designed to prepare students for entry-level manufacturing jobs, and tuition costs will be covered by the grant. “Bank of America is one of the strongest partners we have at Augusta Tech,” says Beverly Peltier, director of institutional advancement and the Augusta Technical College Foundation. “By funding FAST Skills Training, they are enabling underserved and underemployed individuals to be a part of our community’s economic recovery in a quick and efficient manner.” The medical scribe training will be an online, self-paced program.
The investment is part of Bank of America’s overall commitment to invest $1.25 billion to create economic opportunities in various underserved communities nationwide. “Augusta Technical College has built a successful program for technical training and job placement that will better equip members of our community in performing jobs that are not only in high-demand, but are also critical to growing the Augusta economy,” says Ora Parish, the bank’s president for Augusta and Aiken. “Our partnership furthers our commitment to supporting solutions that advance racial and ethnic equality and create economic opportunity in our community.”
For more information, visit the college’s website at augustatech.edu or call 706-771-4000.
