Special to bizNEVADA
Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates (JAG Nevada) is proud to announce it has been named among the first recipients of Tesla’s Nevada K-12 Education Investment Fund. JAG Nevada will receive an initial investment of $200,000, which will aid its efforts in providing students with the practical soft and employment-related skills, and career guidance needed to enter Nevada’s key STEM-related industries after graduation.
The Nevada K-12 Education Investment Fund is a $37.5 million investment by Tesla that is focused on initiatives that support K-12 STEM and sustainability education in the state, as part of the Nevada Department of Education Gift Fund. The demand for STEM jobs in Nevada will grow drastically in the future, andSTEM roles will be needed to support Nevada’s future employment sectors.
Tesla has become well known as the manufacturer of several all-electric vehicle models, they also manufacture the batteries that power the vehicles, and have developed infinitely scalable clean energy generation and storage products. Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. But Tesla realized that in order to expand and keep developing new products, they need an educated workforce.
JAG Nevada has worked with Tesla to establish a detailed, multi-year plan to accomplish its mission. Currently, one of JAG’s star alums, Isabelle West, was hired by the Tesla Gigafactory in Reno, NV and is now working and attending Truckee Meadows Community College to learn to code. She aspires to become an engineer and continue her career at Tesla. The investment Tesla has made in JAG Nevada allows for more outcomes like West’s.
“We salute Tesla for recognizing and powering the work that JAG Nevada is doing in preparing tomorrow’s talent today,” said Executive Director of JAG Nevada Dr. Rene Cantu, Jr. “JAG is developing Nevada’s high school students via education and skills training into the talent employers want to hire, ensuring better lives for students and their families, and creating a brighter future for Nevada.”
With a 94 percent participant graduation rate and 35 years of proven success in schools nationwide, the JAG model is highly effective in preparing Nevada’s future workforce with the workplace skills students need and employers seek.
JAG Nevada is a private Nevada nonprofit serving over 3,300 Nevada high school students at 41 high schools in 12 Nevada school districts and was launched by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval in bipartisan partnership with the Nevada State Legislature to help increase Nevada’s high school graduation rates and youth employment. For more information, please visit www.jagnv.org
