North Idaho College programs to support aerospace industry
COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho College is preparing for a major role in the region’s next stage of aerospace innovation.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration recently announced $48 million in federal funding is coming to Spokane to help create the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center. This first-of-its-kind testbed facility will focus on developing advanced thermoplastic materials — new types of lightweight, heat-moldable and recyclable materials that can replace metal in aircraft parts — according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.
This Tech Hub is expected to boost Washington’s aviation manufacturing ecosystem, with impacts felt all along the I-90 corridor, including in North Idaho.
“It should be a boon for the whole region and great for manufacturing jobs,” said NIC President Nick Swayne. “It should enhance what North Idaho College already does — respond to the needs of the community, our students and local employers.”
North Idaho College was one of the more than 50 organizations that worked together on this Tech Hub. Now the college is ready to provide hands-on workforce training to create career pathways in advanced manufacturing.
“Our mechatronics program and other advanced manufacturing programs, such as (the machining and CNC program), can help employers who are developing these new innovations to serve the aerospace industry and take the training off their plate,” said Vicki Isakson, the dean of instruction for workforce education at NIC.
Isakson said NIC is poised to respond quickly to the needs of the industry. For example, she said NIC is likely to develop programs and training related to quality assurance processes.
The development of new training will extend to related fields, as well.
“So much automation is happening in manufacturing,” Isakson said. “We’re working on expanding our automation training, specifically more robotics and program logic control systems training, so we can be better positioned to serve the manufacturing industry with students who know how to program new technology in the machines, as well as set them up and repair them.”
The more skilled workers NIC can train, the more the aerospace and manufacturing industries are likely to grow in the region, attracting employers and employees alike.
“The workforce is attracted to places where there are lots of opportunities,” Isakson said. “People don’t usually move to an area because there’s one job in an industry they want. It helps to build that overall competency of our workforce.”
Isakson said the Tech Hub is the culmination of a years-long effort to bring the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene regions to the forefront of conversations about aerospace.
“This is putting us on the map to do what we’ve been trying to do for a long time,” she said. “Small town America can do big things.”
This region is uniquely situated to create opportunities in aerospace and other industries, Isakson said.
“We’re here and we have great systems set up for transportation and other supports that can make us very attractive for businesses to locate here,” she said. “The more we can continue growing that industry along the I-90 corridor, the more it makes for a stronger industry altogether. We’re set up well, as a region, to expand in manufacturing and show the world that this is a great occupation and a great region to live in.”
