UCT Receives $2.5 Million Skills Capital Grant
Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School has been awarded nearly $2.5 million in grant funding as part of the Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant Program.
Governor Charles D. Baker Jr., Lieutenant Governor Karyn E. Polito, and Education Secretary James A. Peyser visited Westfield Technical Academy on Tuesday, September 27, to announce the 14 Massachusetts high schools receiving a cumulative $24 million in grant funding. The grants are intended to further enable the schools to modernize labs and significantly expand student enrollment in programs that provide career education.
The high schools receiving grant funding will make strategic investments over the next two years to grow their career education programs to provide more learning opportunities for both traditional high school students and adult learners, with several schools expanding their Career Technical Initiative (CTI) programs to offer more learning opportunities in the late afternoon and evening.
UCT was the recipient of a $2,496,500 grant. Superintendent Roger D. Forget said that the grant funding will be used to modernize and update the infrastructure of the Environmental Science and Technology instructional labs—which support 100 high school and adult training program students—with new laboratory equipment such as microscopes, HAZMAT/oil spill simulators, and field equipment including sampling devices, cameras, weather stations, and field and marine access vehicles.
“Upgrading equipment and providing hands-on learning experiences ensures that our students—both young people and adults—graduate with vital skills and knowledge,” said Education Secretary Peyser via a press release from the governor’s office. “Through the Skills Capital Grants, thousands of young people and adults have been provided with educational opportunities to be successful in high-demand careers that are growing in the Commonwealth.”
The Skills Capital Grant Program was originally launched with the goal of replacing outdated equipment and technology, mainly at vocational-technical high schools and community colleges. Since then, the program has evolved to become a crucial component of local workforce training efforts by providing opportunities for training to both young people and adults using the newest technologies in a specific field. Since the launch of the Skills Capital Grant program in 2015, 491 grants totaling more than $153 million have been awarded to different schools and educational institutions across the state.