$500K approved to help train students in manufacturing technology

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development board on Thursday approved spending up to $500,000 for equipment that will help train high school and College of Southern Nevada students in manufacturing technology.

It was the first application through the state’s Workforce Innovation for the New Nevada Fund Program and it will provide special training in robotics, hydraulics and pneumatics that will educate workers for the Faraday Future electric car company plant being built in the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas.

The WINN program was established to bridge the educational community with industry and assist in recruitment, assessment and training for high-wage, high-skill jobs.

The Faraday Future plan is a collaboration between the company, the Nevada System of Higher Education, the College of Southern Nevada, the Southeast Career Technical Academy and the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The program was established in legislation approved in December’s special session that provided economic incentives for Los Angeles-based Faraday, which expects to open its car manufacturing plant by early next year.

The funding is the first phase of the WINN program with additional capital equipment requests planned in future years.

“The coolest thing is that all this equipment will be available to high-school students,” Economic Development Director Steve Hill said prior to the vote.

It’s the first step in developing a workforce pipeline from Nevada schools to Faraday.

The new equipment, which will include a simulator that will enable students to learn how to troubleshoot malfunctions, will be set up at the Southwest Career Technical Academy, which has a three-phase power supply required to run the equipment.

Dan Gouker, senior associate vice president of the Division of Workforce Economic Development and Apprenticeship Studies at CSN, said the program would recruit from high school magnet programs and manufacturing studies programs at CSN.

Andrew De Haan, plant director for Faraday Future’s North Las Vegas operation, said entry-level plant employees could expect to earn wages in the low $20s per hour while managers and more experienced workers would be paid in the high $20s or low $30s per hour.

Board members also approved five tax abatement incentive requests for companies locating or expanding in Clark County and three requests for training grants for Clark County companies.

Board members approved a $3.8 million abatement request for ViaWest Inc., which is developing a data center in Las Vegas, one of more than 30 operated in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona and Calgary, Alberta, Canada; a $1 million abatement request for Core-Mark International, Inc., one of the largest distributors of fresh, frozen and chilled merchandise to North American convenience stores; and a $350,746 incentive request from Pacific Dental Services, which provides business support services to 16 states throughout the United States.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta.