NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) awarded Delgado Community College an $894,533 grant for its Maritime and Industrial Training program, from the Workforce Training Rapid Response Fund.
The Louisiana State Legislature provided the funding to assist individuals' ability to function in the workplace, which includes support for educational programs designed to help them improve their employment opportunities.
The award enables Delgado to offer discounted training for over 20 courses that cover all levels of maritime careers. They're designed to take a student from the start of their career as deckhands, and then give them the skills and endorsements the need to become a member of the wheelhouse or engine room crew.
Delgado's grant will support vessel engineering, tankerman and steersman classes, and two new programs that will debut in 2019. The program will begin offering deckhand training classes on a new training pad as well as building a new simulator for dynamic positioning system assessments.
The Delgado Maritime and Industrial Training program is currently seeking designation as a Domestic Maritime Center of Excellence. Recent legislation authorizes federal designation of community and technical college "centers of excellence" to address a shortage of workers in the nation's maritime workforce, and to support continuous training in the industry.
The designation would help the Delgado center admit more students, train faculty, expand facilities and create new maritime career avenues – from certificate to associate degree, to baccalaureate degree programs – awarding credit for prior learning experience, including military service.
