City College secures $200K to boost job training efforts
March 27, 2015 |
San Diego City College has secured $200,000 for two successful programs working with private industry to prepare students with the skills they need for in-demand jobs.
The grants will maintain City College as the center of regional efforts to build job readiness in advanced manufacturing and in professions where computer skills are critical. The grants are being delivered through the Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy program, which is run through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
“Helping students prepare for jobs in an increasingly competitive labor market is a vital component of City College’s mission,” said City College President Anthony Beebe. “This latest funding that will enable us to continue programs that have proven success.”
The San Diego Community College District’s Board of Trustees officially accepted the grants at its March 26 meeting.
A $100,000 Information, Communication Technologies/Digital Media grant will enable City College to continue working with industry to bolster computer skills for administrative assistants, information clerks, secretaries, and other office workers – professions that state and federal economists say will sustain robust growth for years to come.
A second $100,000 Advanced Manufacturing grant is going to City College’s Center Applied Competitive Technologies program, which offers technology education and manufacturing training.
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office granted each program $200,000 last year through the Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy effort, but funding was set to run out on June 30. The additional money will fund the programs through Dec. 31.
Both programs have already seen success. For example, the Information and Communication Technologies/Digital Media Sector grant led to the creation a new Business Information Worker (BIW) readiness certificate program that will be launched this fall and which will include courses in Business Communications, Information Systems, and Microsoft Excel, among others. And earlier this spring, the Information and Communication Technologies/Digital Media Sector grant contributed to workshops ensuring community college students are job ready when they complete their degrees. Following the career workshops, on-campus interviews were conducted in February and March for more than 250 available jobs in the area. Nearly 200 students interviewed with recruiters, and nearly all qualified for job offers for positions that ranged from administrative assistants to engineering technicians.
Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy is collaboration among community colleges, employers, labor and local communities to align educational efforts, close the skills gap, and foster student success.