Central Arizona College was recently awarded a $1.1 million Perkins Grant from the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with Arizona Western College, Yavapai College, and Center for the Future of Arizona.

The Perkins funding allows educational institutions to partner with business and industry to develop or expand career and technical education programs. The program aims to expand the educational experience for high school students by providing pathways to industry-recognized postsecondary credentials that prepare students for future careers. 

CAC will utilize this funding to expand the Automated Industrial Technology program to other CAC campuses and to create high school partnerships around manufacturing, along with a pre-apprenticeship program that could lead to an apprenticeship in one of 14 trades.

Graduates of the AIT program may earn one or more certificates and an associate of applied science degree. Students in the program learn troubleshooting skills, how to maintain and repair multiple automated electro-mechanical systems, product assembly, process control and product distribution systems that use programmable controls and other methodologies to accomplish system management.

With this training graduates are equipped with the skills needed to define, integrate, install, program, and maintain complex control systems.

The grant is part of the U.S. Department of Education Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success initiative, aimed at helping young people access good-paying jobs. The CCHS grant program is intended to build capacity and coordination among secondary and postsecondary education, workforce development systems, and other community partners to expand access to career-connected high school programs for more students, with a focus on increasing access to high-quality pathways for underserved students.

CAC has campuses in Apache Junction, San Tan Valley, Coolidge, Maricopa and Winkleman.