Nassau BOCES gets $5M SBA manufacturing grant

Nassau County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (Nassau BOCES) was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The money is part of $50 million in grants to 11 organizations that will provide training and technical assistance to support small manufacturers in SBA’s Empower to Grow (E2G) Program. The Manufacturing in America E2G Grant Initiative is aimed at helping the recipients to deliver hands-on training that builds technical proficiency.

For Nassau BOCES, the grant supports the Long Island Defense Manufacturing Resilience Initiative, which has two integrated components: workforce development and technical assistance. It will provide upgraded hands-on training in welding, advanced electrical, and industrial piping, delivered through modernized labs and two Festo-built mobile VR/AR training vehicles. This is a business service that supplies eligible defense industrial base firms with the skilled new hires and upskilled incumbent workers they need to grow capability and capacity, according to a SBA statement.

“Nassau BOCES plays a vital role in advancing transformational workforce development for manufacturing by providing hands-on career and technical education that prepares students for real opportunities in skilled trades and advanced manufacturing,” said SBA Regional Administrator Matt Coleman. “I’m excited to see an SBA Empower to Grow grant for up to $5 million awarded to Nassau BOCES to support Long Island’s defense industrial base companies. My uncle was a BOCES high school principal, so I’ve seen firsthand the difference this educational system makes every day in preparing today’s youth for careers with small manufacturers. We’re fortunate to have this grant awarded right here in our backyard on Long Island and in New York State to help strengthen American manufacturing.”