Department of Defense Awards $6.56 Million to Expand Workforce Development in Extractive Technologies

View Online IMMEDIATE RELEASE Department of Defense Awards $6.56 Million to Expand Workforce Development in Extractive Technologies Aug. 29, 2024 The Department of Defense announced today a $6.56 million award via the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) office to Montana Technological University (Montana Tech), located in Butte, Montana. The award will fund the development and delivery of a critical workforce development program that will allow trainees to upskill their capabilities in metallurgical, geological, mining, and environmental engineering. The project directly bolsters the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy's aim to expand support for domestic production of critical minerals and prepare the workforce for future technological innovation. "The dearth of individuals with the requisite skills in mining and metallurgy is one of the largest bottlenecks for our Nation's ability to increase its critical mineral production capacity," said Mr. Anthony Di Stasio, Director of the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) directorate in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience. "With this award, Montana Tech will be able to expand its reach to help train the next generation of the critical minerals workforce." Through Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act, Montana Tech will create a curriculum with both online and hands-on components in multiple disciplines within the mineral extraction industry — skills currently in danger of being lost in the United States. The program will be a first-of-its-kind supporting effort for DPA that helps ensure we have a workforce in place that provides the human capital needed to fill the jobs created by direct investments in expanded capabilities. This is the latest of 47 awards made by the DPAI program across multiple areas totaling $470 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2024. DPAI is overseen by the MCEIP directorate in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience. For more information on MCEIP, please visit: https://www.businessdefense.gov/ibr/mceip/index.html About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP)) The OASD(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future. OASD(IBP) also utilizes a new Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) to solicit new ideas for research or prototype project solutions for critical Supply Chain Resiliency Focus Areas. The DIBC OTA Open Announcement (OA) —  which is accepting unsolicited white paper submissions through September 30, 2024 — includes Workforce Development as a critical sector and area of interest. The DIBC OTA underscores the Department's ongoing dedication to safeguarding the integrity of our crucial supply chain and furnishing our warfighters with materials and technologies promptly. To learn more about the DIBC OTA, please visit: https://www.dibconsortium.org.

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