High-wage, high-skill jobs are in demand and will be even
more so as baby boomers retire.
While employers in the fields of manufacturing, health
care and logistics/transportation are finding a hard time finding qualified
workers, three community colleges in eastern Pennsylvania are looking to fill
that void by joining with partners in education, economic development, public
workforce and industry to launch a four-year project to address these needs.
In September, Northampton Community College in Bethlehem
Township learned it would receive a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department
of Labor to be shared with Lehigh Carbon Community College and Luzerne County
Community College. NCC received the grant in October, and Tuesday afternoon
announced its intention to use the funds for a partnership project, disclosing
specifics on programs and initiatives geared to produce a highly skilled
workforce and attract employers to the region.
NCC will serve as the project’s lead fiscal agent, said
Mark Erickson, president of NCC.
The collaborative project is funded by the Trade Adjustment
Assistance Community College and Career Training No. 4 grant and links business
and industry partners, Erickson said.
“This is a historic partnership,” he said. “It will
address workforce needs and create jobs, and in the process we are going to address
the big-picture issues.”
Erickson said NCC has 20 industry partners who signed on
at the beginning with letters of support to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We reached out to people we knew in the area,” he said.
“That number will grow substantially. We will pull in an increasing number of
partners.”
To establish these relationships with industry partners
is so important, added Ann Bieber, president of Lehigh Carbon Community College
of Schnecksville.
The industry partners include many regional companies
such as Victaulic, Mack Trucks, Pocono Medical Center, Just Born Inc., B. Braun
Medical Inc. and Fresh Pet Kitchens.
Seven economic development partners throughout northeast
Pennsylvania also are supporting the project.
By January, the project is expected to be running,
starting with defining and elevating the partnership between the colleges and
businesses, Erickson said. In January, the colleges will meet with industry
partners to ensure that staff is allotted for the project and to start tracking
outcomes.
“This is going to be a class act,” said Nancy Dischinat,
executive director of Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board. “It’s providing
the community colleges the opportunity to step up their training and curriculum
design. It’s all about economic development and keeping the pipeline moving.”
WORKING TOGETHER
Hopefully, this project is the beginning of a new phase
of the joint history, showcasing both this and potentially future opportunities
for the three colleges to partner together in offering credit and noncredit
options, Bieber said.
Together, the colleges will create and redesign programs
that will help students navigate to successful careers, she said.
The project covers 13 counties and would serve almost two
million people, with 36 programs of study that are being created, redesigned or
enhanced by the project funds across all three colleges, said Thomas Leary,
president of Luzerne County Community College. The programs focus on health
care, manufacturing and transportation/logistics industries and will transform
education and training options from the regions into the foreseeable future,
Leary said.
Many people in the labor force are underemployed,
Dischinat said. As workforce partners, they are grateful to have three
community colleges that understand the value added by the U.S. Department of
Labor, she said.
“Our closest link [in helping people find employment] is
our community colleges,” Dischinat said. “Together, we are in it to win it.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The four-year project is expected to have a large
economic impact on the economic development landscape of the region.
“Roughly the entire northeastern quadrant of the state
will be served dramatically,” said Michael McGovern, NCC interim vice president
of academic affairs.
Industry partners will help identify the skills and
competencies needed to meet hiring needs, participate in curriculum design and
delivery options and help develop marketing approaches that showcase jobs in
their companies.
Other tasks for industry partners include donating or
loaning equipment for training purposes and identifying workers who benefit
from additional skills and training, McGovern said.
A key outcome of the project would be professional
development for the colleges’ instructors to use updated equipment and 21st
century curriculum and instructional styles that reflect real-world work
environments, linking the business and college relationships.
“Our faculty can also get opportunities to learn new
skills and update their skills and technology,” Leary said.
Source: LVB.com
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