SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $800,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO DEVELOP NEW CUTTING-EDGE PRECISION METALS TRAINING CENTER AT MOHAWK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

New State-of-the-Art Tools & Equipment Will Allow MVCC To Teach Local Students High-Demand Skills Employers Need Without Changing Existing Production Lines Or Taking Up Valuable Manufacturing Floor Time

Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council Is Prioritizing Boosting Precision Metals Sector As Major Sector For Local Exports, Employment, And Source Of Economic Growth

Schumer: Fed $$ On The Way To Boost Precision Metals Training In The Mohawk Valley!

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today announced $800,000 in federal funding for Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) in the fiscal year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill to help grow their precision metals training program into a cutting-edge, industry-aligned Precision Metals Training Center, which will be located inside the state-of-the-art Applied Technology Center that MVCC broke ground for last fall.

"New high-end tools and equipment will provide a major boost to the Mohawk Valley's precision metals industry. I'm proud to deliver $800,000 in federal funding to Mohawk Valley Community College to help grow their state-of-the-art precision metals training program," said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. "With Upstate NY's manufacturing sector surging because of new major investments like Micron, this new funding will help students get the hands-on training and skills they need for high-demand jobs. I will never stop fighting to boost workforce development programs in the Mohawk Valley and across Upstate NY so young people can land good-paying jobs close to home."

Schumer explained this significant federal investment will fund the purchase of new, top-of-the-line tools and equipment used by leading metals sector employers, allowing MVCC to tailor their metals workforce training programs to help students land good-paying jobs in the Mohawk Valley metals industry and across Upstate New York's thriving high-tech economy.

"On behalf of MVCC and the community we serve, I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his years-long fight to deliver this strategic investment to upgrade our Precision Metals Center with the state-of-the-art tools and equipment used by industry, and optimize our training programs to meet the specific needs of metals sector employers. In addition to helping solidify our position as a statewide and national leader in industry-aligned workforce development, this investment builds on millions of dollars the Senator has advocated for and successfully secured to support infrastructure and programs from our regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center to our new Applied Technology Center that broke ground last fall," said Mohawk Valley Community College President Randall J. VanWagoner. "With metals industry jobs in high demand across the Mohawk Valley, and paying around 18% more than the regional average, our Precision Metals Training Center is a unique resource that is becoming increasingly vital to one of the signature sectors powering our community. I applaud Senator Schemer for recognizing the importance of our work in precision metals, for continuing to prioritize investment in education and workforce development, and for always fighting to promote economic opportunity and growth for all here in the Mohawk Valley and across New York State."

"Senator Schumer's leadership in securing this $800,000 federal investment is a major win for Oneida County and the region's manufacturing economy," said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. "By helping MVCC transform its precision metals programs into a state-of-the-art Precision Metals Training Center, this funding ensures students and workers are trained on the same advanced equipment used by today's top employers, strengthening our workforce pipeline, supporting good-paying jobs and positioning our region for continued growth in one of our most critical industries."

MVCC will use this funding to purchase new tools and equipment that mirror the machines leading employers use in the field and on the manufacturing floor, helping MVCC teach more students the skills metals sector employers are looking for. Once complete, the Mohawk Valley Precision Metals Training Center provide the region with a unique workforce development asset, allowing MVCC to create bespoke training solutions tailored to employer and job-seeker requirements, without taking up valuable time on the manufacturing floor or forcing employers to modify existing production lines.

The Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, in its inaugural year, declared that maintaining and growing the precision metals sector, a major local export sector and a source of local employment and economic growth, was a top regional economic priority. Schumer said that federal investment will help both small and large businesses operating in the metals sector increase and sustain profitability, making it even clearer that the Mohawk Valley is open for business and positioned as a hotbed of manufacturing growth for generations to come.

Schumer has been Mohawk Valley Community College's leading champion in Congress for more than a decade, and his relentless advocacy has secured a series of federal investments that are helping MVCC reshape the region's workforce landscape. In January 2023, Schumer visited MVCC's campus in Utica to celebrate delivering a $2?million federal investment to help fund a state-of-the-art semiconductor-and-advanced-manufacturing lab to help grow the Mohawk Valley's high-tech talent pipeline and feed major employers in Upstate New York's booming microelectronics and semiconductor industry, like Micron, Wolfspeed, and GlobalFoundries. That investment was a key piece of the funding that made it possible for MVCC to break ground on its new, state-of-the-art, 64,000 square foot Applied Technology Center last September.

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