The American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center (AAMMC) Tech Hub is proud to celebrate the success of one of its consortium members, North Idaho College (NIC), which has advanced in NASA’s Aerospace State Hubs for Skilled Technical Workforce Initiative.
With support from the AAMMC Tech Hub’s regional network, NIC was one of only 15 institutions nationwide selected to move forward to the concept proposal stage after passing NASA’s initial review. The proposed Inland Northwest Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Hub builds directly on the AAMMC’s mission to expand technical training, strengthen education-to-employment pathways, and prepare the next generation of aerospace and defense talent across the Inland Northwest.
As a winner in the selection stage, representatives from the consortium were invited to a summit at NASA on building the aerospace workforce of the future. Colby Matilla, Executive Director of Economic and Workforce Development at NIC, and Gynii Gilliam, President of the Coeur d’Alene Area EDC, traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to meet with NASA representatives and discuss the concept proposal and next steps.
NASA’s initiative seeks to address a projected shortage of nearly one million aerospace and defense workers by 2030 by fostering strong, scalable regional partnerships that link education, government, and industry. The aerospace sector faces a critical skilled labor shortage, making manufacturing efficiency and workforce innovation at the heart of the AAMMC Tech Hub more important than ever. This initiative is designed to address the critical shortage of 1 million workers in the aerospace and defense industry by 2030. The Hubs Initiative is intended to:
1. Bridge the coordination gap among existing workforce development programs between government, industry, and education to create clear pathways for students to pursue high-needs skilled technical workforce careers.
2. Leverage federal, state, and local resources to create student opportunities in community college and career technical education, building a skilled workforce to meet industry demand.
The collaboration between NIC, the AAMMC Tech Hub, and partners throughout the Inland Northwest underscores a shared commitment to advancing aerospace and advanced manufacturing workforce development. Together, these efforts are positioning the region as a key contributor to the nation’s aerospace and defense innovation network.
Read More about NIC’s selection for NASA’s Skilled Technical Workforce Initiative.
