University Business - October 2012 - (Page 55)

business, government, and education trends and to bring stakeholders together to evaluate employers’ training needs, she says. In June, for example, PGCC convened a forum to identify science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce training needs and business development opportunities in Prince George’s County, Snowden shares. Among the topics discussed was the formation of a county-wide technology and engineering council, which would be tasked with ensuring that local employers have access to educated, highly trained workers to meet current and future industry demands. Workforce development programs also generate benefits for community colleges, both tangible and intangible. “While about 62 percent of the College's operating revenue is from tuition and fees, workforce development initiatives have helped the College enhance its education and training programs,” notes DCCC’s Kozachyn. The TAACCCT grant, for example, has enabled the college to install new equipment at one campus. “This equipment is currently used to train laid-off and underemployed workers in how to be computer numeric control operators," she says, adding that this skill is reported to be in high demand by Pennsylvania manufacturers. Revenue generated by GRCC’s workforce development Continuous Education, on Campus and Online Employers believe their employees must be committed to continuing education to remain on top of their industries and their jobs, according to research commissioned by Destiny Solutions in October 2011. “The Voice of the Employer on the Effects and Opportunities of Professional Development,” based on a study of 200 employers across North America, reveals that 70 percent of employers feel their employees need continuous training just to keep up with their jobs. Ninety-five percent of employers financially support employee continuing education. Yet, only 9 percent of employers have actually partnered with a college or university to provide employee training and development, the study found. “A majority of employers took issue with the availability of college-level programs tailored to their needs and nearly eight of out 10 said that educational partnerships between employers and higher education institutions are limited in availability,” stated the report. Community colleges that are successfully capitalizing on the workforce development market are making the training as convenient as possible for employers and employees by offering it at multiple locations and online. At Prince George’s Community College (Md.), more than half of the 40,000 students are enrolled in workforce development programs to earn certificates or complete degrees, says Yvette Snowden, dean of workforce development and community partnerships. Workforce development fits the community college’s mission to “create programs that respond to the needs of the businesses in the communities where they operate,” Snowden says, adding that,“what’s important is the number of people that we touch.” Total enrollment at PGCC has increased by about 25 percent in the past five years and providing convenient, flexible locations for workforce development training is more critical than ever, since employers may not have the space to provide it on site. PGCC has five extension sites around the county, including the Westphalia Training Center, which offers several training spaces for skilled trades. Over the past year alone, PGCC has partnered with 30 businesses and nonprofits in the county, Snowden says. At one end of the spectrum, short courses are offered to meet a specific need for a license of certification, while at the other end, employees may have the opportunity to parlay stacked coursework into a two- or four-year degree, explains Snowden. Course work that can be completed online provides flexible training that is also cost-efficient. Julie Parks, director of workforce training at Grand Rapids Community College (Mich.)., is working with Pearson Education Inc. to create online curricula that teach problem-solving skills and theory to manufacturing workers. Training is conducted online as well as at on-campus labs at GRCC. “It’s a way to have people with expertise share it with the college,” she says. The Westphalia Training Center, a new Prince George's Community College extension site, establishes construction industry partnerships to provide training in several trade areas. Although Pearson training is conducted both online and in person, web-based learning is particularly convenient for companies that have multiple plants around the country or even around the world, Parks points out. In addition, working with Pearson makes financial sense for GRCC, which is experiencing a hiring freeze and budget reductions, explains Parks, because the partnership saves money and makes GRCC more efficient and flexible. universitybusiness.com October 2012 | 55 http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - October 2012

University Business - October 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Venue 365
Not Your Parents’ Campus Bookstore
CRM Grows Up
Where the Workers Are
The Payment Plan
Education Innovators
Money Matters
What's New
End Note

University Business - October 2012