WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) will receive nearly $130,000 from the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) to purchase equipment that will help students train for advanced workforce positions in robotics.
Late last month, DRA officials announced the $130,000 award through its Delta Workforce Grant Program (DWP). University officials said the funds will be used to purchase two pieces of equipment for its technology training programs through the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Technology (GOCAT):
• a Lincoln Electric classmate robotic welding trainer, which will provide students with hands-on training in robotic skills used in manufacturing and fabrication facilities;
• an AAB IRB robotic arm, which will provide students the next level of troubleshooting and use of robotic equipment in a manufacturing setting. The arm will integrate with previously purchased industrial training equipment, university officials said.
Officials estimate the equipment will be used to train 50 to 75 individuals, including dislocated workers, new entrants into the workforce, incumbent workers and underrepresented groups such as women, veterans, minority groups and individuals with disabilities, according to a DRA news release.
DWP supports initiatives that expand job training and re-employment opportunities, align workforce and economic development strategies, create sustainable talent pipelines, establish or enhance locally/regionally significant public-private partnerships, and support enhanced workforce productivity through innovative programming.
This is the second DRA grant awarded to MSU-WP this fall. In October, university officials learned they would receive $960,000 in Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities grant funding to support the new Advanced Fabrication Technology program. The funding was awarded through the partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and the DRA’s DWP.
“With these recent grants, the Delta Regional Authority continues to recognize the quality of our training programs, as well as the capacity of the university to impact south-central Missouri and its residents, and we thank them for their great support,” said Interim Chancellor Dennis Lancaster.
“Federal support for these programs is crucial if Missouri State-West Plains is going to move the needle on preparing residents for the advanced tech jobs available now and into the future right here in southern Missouri,” he added.
“We’re overwhelmed by the interest and support of U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley and of 8th District Congressman Jason Smith in what we’re doing here,” Lancaster said. “They and their staff members are always asking about how things are going and what they can do to help us. We couldn’t ask for greater partners.”
The DRA is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to promote and encourage economic development of the lower Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt. DRA invests in projects supporting transportation infrastructure, basic public infrastructure, workforce training and business development. DRA’s mission is to help create jobs, build communities and improve the lives of those who reside in the 252 counties and parishes of its eight-state region.
