Labor Department training funds will be used for computer science

Two Idaho universities and one community college will get a combined $1.8 million from the Idaho Department of Labor for special worker training grant programs.

Boise State will get most of the funding, with $1 million going to its computer science program. ISU will use a $532,180 grant to develop a new anatomy and physiology lab in Meridian, and NIC will receive $281,036 for a wood products manufacturing program.

The money comes from a new Industry Sector Grant program, which gets state funding from the existing Workforce Development Training. That fund, which gets money from the state’s unemployment tax on businesses, also reimburses companies for their training for new workers. All the money given in the Industry Sector Grant program required at least three businesses to partner with universities and for the private sector to contribute at least a quarter of the grant.

Boise State’s grant, which the school has dubbed “Expand.CS,” is expected to double the number of computer science graduates each year, from 30 to 60. The university will hire three faculty members, two teaching assistants, a program coordinator and an IT specialist. Several local technology companies, Clearwater Analytics, Cradlepoint, Focus IP, Hewlett-Packard, Impact Sales, Keynetics, MetaGeek and WhiteCloud Analytics, contributed $310,768 to the grant match.

This isn’t the first state grant targeted at Boise State’s computer science program. Last year, the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission gave the university $700,000 to hire more faculty for the program.

“Our success depends on the CS department having enough graduates for us to continue to grow,” MetaGeek CEO Ryan Woodings said in a Boise State news release. MetaGeek is contributing $150,000 for student scholarships. The Boise company now employs six Boise State computer science graduates.

ISU’s grant will support the Treasure Valley Anatomy and Physiology Laboratories in Meridian. The new lab will help the school’s programs for physical therapy, occupational therapy and physician assistants. St. Luke’s Health System, Saint Alphonsus Health System and Blue Cross of Idaho are the private-sector matching companies, contributing $141,709 to the lab.

NIC’s grant will go to its Wood Products Manufacturing Center for Excellence in Post Falls. Idaho Forest Group, Potlatch Corp. and Stimson Lumber Co. contributed a combined $93,679 match for the grant.

UPDATED 12/18: The state funds for the program are provided by the Idaho Department of Labor, not the Idaho Department of Commerce.