Vance, Rubio mark Trump administration’s launch of Foundry School

1 of 6 | Vice President JD Vance announces the launch of the Trump administration's Foundry School at the Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The Foundry School is a national program designed to train entrepreneurs, engineers, technicians, and industrial leaders to help build on domestic manufacturing. Photo by Tierney L. Cross/UPI | License Photo Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Trump administration launched the Foundry School on Thursday, a new program targeted at training workers in manufacturing and design skills. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at the launch ceremony for the program in Washington, D.C. The program is the result of a partnership between the administration and several universities, including Ohio State, Penn State and Stanford. The Trump administration said in its fact sheet on Foundry School that the manufacturing industry will need 3.8 million skilled workers by 2033 to build semiconductors, defense and energy items and more. The program is part of the Trump administration's Pax Silica initiative, a plan under the State Department that seeks to improve the United States' AI and supply chain capabilities. "If you think of the thrust of college education over the last 20, 30 years -- was if you want to make a lot of money, if you want to have a good career, go into law, go into finance, go into banking, that was it," Vance said in his address on Thursday. "I think what we're doing with the Foundry is we're telling America's next generation of entrepreneurs and engineers and just brilliant kids that there is a future, both a financial future but also a future in the dignity of what you're going to be doing every single day, by actually building things." The Trump administration describes the curriculum for the Foundry School as rolling out in two phases. Beginning this month, seven regional sessions will be held, hosted by Arizona State, Ohio State and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Penn State, the University of Kansas, Vanderbilt and Washington University in St. Louis. The regional sessions will address the "fundamentals of modern factory design, materials and supply chains, assembly-line engineering, plant economics, regulation and permitting, and workforce development at scale." Beginning in January, Stanford will host a 10-session program that will follow up on the fundamental curriculum, covering topics like industrial automation, precision tooling and digital manufacturing. Vice President JD Vance announces the launch of the Trump Administration's Foundry School at the Institute of Peace on Thursday. The Foundry School is a national program designed to train entrepreneurs, engineers, technicians, and industrial leaders to help build on domestic manufacturing. Photo by Tierney L. Cross/UPI | License Photo Read More Trump to stump for 35 Republicans ahead of midterms Coast Guard jet with DHS secretary onboard makes emergency landing Judge blocks Trump's latest try at limiting birthright citizenship