Regions · Oregon
NW Oregon
The version 2.0 pilot: the first assessment to look past machining and welding at a region's full manufacturing makeup, adding wood products and food manufacturing. Final review underway.
Client
Cycles
Status
Coordinator
What the assessment found
The familiar gaps repeat: CNC operation and programming, and the structural welding processes. Food manufacturing is the region's largest manufacturing employer, nearly 1,800 jobs, and no high school in the region has a dedicated program feeding it. The assessment produced a planning-grade investment list: about $193,000 in identified program needs, of which $42,000 is already funded.
What followed
Re-assessing the Columbia County programs showed real improvement traced directly to the investments the earlier assessment informed.
What's next
Final report and field review [~mid-September 2026]; findings to the region's partners.