Politics & Government

Gregoire Visits RTC, Participates In Basic Riveting Class

Governor Gregoire tours Renton Technical College and Boeing Plant in support of aerospace jobs, will visit Ireland this summer to promote aerospace programs in WA state.

Christine Gregoire went from Governor to student this week as she toured the campus and participated in a basic drilling and riveting course. The Governor assisted students by laying out locations of rivets, drilling holes and measuring hole diameters. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been a student in the classroom,” Gregoire said. “This was a good opportunity to gain a better appreciation of what our aerospace workers do to help our economy. It was also a chance to see first-hand the growth of our aerospace training programs.” 

The technical college developed the course after Gregoire made significant investments in workforce training through her Workforce Investment Act funds, according to a statement from the Governor’s office.

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Gregoire has appropriated $4.5 million in Workforce Investment Act funds to expand aerospace training opportunities and helped develop the aerospace scholars program to encourage more than 100 high school students to pursue engineering degrees.

After her stop at Renton Technical College, Gregoire toured the Renton Boeing facility with company executives.

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. The company also learned last year that it was selected to build the new Air Force refueling tanker.

“These wins didn’t happen by accident,” Gregoire said. “I worked very closely with lawmakers, Boeing and its labor force to ensure the business climate necessary to build these planes here. I’m incredibly pleased with the outcomes – which support thousands of jobs across Washington state.”

Gregoire also toured Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator, a 737 devoted to testing some of the latest technology advancements, including biofuels before wrapping up her day at Boeing’s Flight Services Seattle Training Campus.

This summer Gregoire will lead a delegation on a trade mission to Ireland and England with a heavy focus on aerospace. The governor will spend two days at the Farnborough Air Show, where she will meet with executives at major aerospace companies from around the world to ensure their understanding of the value of doing business in Washington state.

Read the full press release issued by the Governor's office by clicking here.


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