POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Nscale, which is developing a data center in Mason County, is giving $500,000 to the Mason County Board of Education.
The presentation, made during the BOE’s Tuesday evening meeting, will go toward the establishment of what’s being called a premier STEM and skilled-trades initiative in Mason County.
“The Monarch Compute Campus will be one of the largest compute hubs in the world, and we are building it in Mason County. The opportunities that come with it should belong to this community,” said Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale said in a news release. “Demand for people trained in STEM and the skilled trades has never been higher. This gift will help Mason County students access the tools and training necessary to succeed in a technology-first economy.”
Jason Bechtle, site manager for Nscale’s Monarch Compute Campus, said Nscale is a partner with Mason County and wants to do all it can to help train local residents for the permanent jobs that are coming.
“We’re bringing a lot of jobs that are going to be provided by Monarch, but we’re also committed to helping develop those opportunities. So those folks right here at home, just like me, have the opportunity to step into a good paying job right here at Monarch,” Bechtle told MetroNews.
The half-million dollars will help finance labs, workshops, continuing education for teachers and the latest curriculum. Bechtle said they want to help the students develop the skills they need. The Mason County school system will develop the specifics of the program,” Bechtle said.
Nscale also released Tuesday the results of an economic impact study from the global accounting firm Ernst & Young. The report estimates that through the Monarch Compute Campus Nscale will generate 6,000 jobs over the next two years including 700 permanent jobs in Phase 1. Bechtle said those numbers are eye-popping.
“Seven-hundred (jobs) during Phase One of this project, of these high-skilled STEM trade jobs that are going to be right here for the taking,” Bechtle said.
The EY study also projects tax revenues to reach $105 million with $87 million of that total headed to the Mason County school system. There would be $13 million for county government and $5 million for EMS and public safety.
Bechtle, himself a Mason County high school graduate, said the sooner training of a future workforce can get trained the better.
“As we ramp up over the next couple of months, a lot of the construction skilled-labor and trade jobs are going to become the heightened center of our need and then those permanent positions will continue closer to the first of the year or after the first of the year is when we are going to be scaling up on those types of jobs,” Bechtle said.