BOGALUSA, La. – Northshore Technical Community College administrators are celebrating the expansion of their heavy equipment operator program at the Sullivan Campus in Bogalusa. The program is funded by a grant from the Louisiana Watershed Initiative.
PRO Louisiana provides federal funding for occupational training courses that are vital to the state’s flood recovery and resilience efforts. The goal is to develop a skilled workforce that can support flood risk reduction projects and build Louisiana’s defense against future disasters.
Last year, NTCC became one of six Louisiana Community and Technical College System colleges to offer PRO Louisiana Heavy Equipment Operator courses. They began with a new HEO program at the Lacombe Campus. PRO Louisiana will support additional courses in the future, such as flood risk analysis and resilient construction methods for builders, contractors and other professionals.
NTCC’s chancellor, Dr. William Wainwright, praised the efforts of NTCC’s workforce division for its efforts in securing the funding.
“The success of the HEO program in Lacombe demonstrated the need for skilled operators in our region,” he said in a press release. “Being able to purchase new equipment to launch a program in Bogalusa will help provide much-needed trained professionals to begin construction careers as a heavy equipment operator in Washington Parish and surrounding areas.”
“Expansion of the PRO Louisiana Heavy Equipment Operator program to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System’s Bogalusa campus will provide area residents with an opportunity to develop the skills needed to be part of a recovery workforce that effectively and efficiently responds to disasters in our state,” said OCD Executive Director Pat Forbes. “This training will create a pipeline of work-ready resilience professionals that are vital to the success of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative and the more than $1 billion in federal funding that will be going into flood mitigation projects over the next 10 years.”
