{"id":66688,"date":"2026-01-28T03:19:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/887151919"},"modified":"2026-01-28T03:19:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:19:38","slug":"colorado-mesa-university-tech-receives-2-46-million-federal-grant-for-workforce-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/colorado-mesa-university-tech-receives-2-46-million-federal-grant-for-workforce-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Mesa University Tech receives $2.46 million federal grant for workforce training"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – Colorado Mesa University Tech received a $2.46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to support short-term training programs in healthcare, first responders, technology, and more. The grant is from the DOE\u2019s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education<\/a>. According to the DOE, $169 million in these funds has been released across the nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CMU President John Marshall and Congressman Jeff Hurd presented the grant on January 27. The funding will support 8 to 15-week programs designed to provide education in the shortest amount of time possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about people getting the skills that they need to stay in this region, to support their families, and to build a future right here at home,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

The grant will support training programs for first responders, computer scientists, mechanics, truck drivers, veterinary assistants, and medical assistants. Community healthcare providers said these positions are vital to their operations.<\/p>\n

Trina Keller, Human Resources Safety Director for Primary Care Partners, said medical assistant positions are particularly needed. \u201cWe have a limited number of medical assistants, and we\u2019re always trying to fill those positions, and this just helps them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think of health care and hospitals as doctors and nurses, but there\u2019s so much more that is involved,\u201d said Chris Thomas, CEO of Community Hospital. \u201cHaving the breadth of education and the opportunities at CMU Tech is such a tremendous asset to Community Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students involved in culinary arts, welding, nursing, and fire science programs attended Tuesday\u2019s event. Fire science student John Hickam attributes his success to his respective program. \u201cIt really allowed me to focus on my education and put that first more than anything,\u201d Hickam said. \u201cIn turn, that helps me get a job at Lower Valley Fire District.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grant will also strengthen CMU\u2019s community partnerships. President Marshall shared that CMU takes pride in these connections. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve started to develop something of a reputation in terms of an institution who\u2019s ready to partner in this community with our employers, find opportunities to put families and individuals in touch with careers in a really short amount of time,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n

One of these partnerships is with the Mesa County Workforce Center, which will help provide data on workforce needs in the community. \u201cThis is exciting to be able to create another pathway for these job seekers to obtain education,\u201d said Heather Nara, Director of the Mesa County Workforce Center.<\/p>\n

Hurd said he hopes this grant is one in many more steps to prepare students and support the next generation of the workforce. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of thegreat work that they\u2019re doing here,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see the great things that are to come for this wonderful institution.\u201d <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KJCT. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… . (KJCT) – Colorado Mesa University Tech<\/span> received a $2.46 million … programs in healthcare, first responders, technology<\/span>, and more. The grant is … and the opportunities at CMU Tech<\/span> is such a tremendous asset …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}