Businesses soon may have more say in what programs are offered at West Virginia's community and technical colleges, and what skills are the focus of the state's workforce training programs.
Gov. Joe Manchin's proposed Training Bucks initiative, mentioned in his State of the State address this month, would require education and training programs to coordinate their course offerings better to meet the needs of businesses. It could not only be used as a recruiting tool to attract new businesses, but as a way to give existing state businesses the edge they need to get ahead, state officials say.
Anything that keeps the focus on what programs are needed -- rather than what students think might be interesting even if the jobs aren't there -- will benefit everyone in the long run, said Jean Chappell, dean of the Allied Health program at Marshall Community and Technical College.
Grads from the Allied Health program are in high demand, she said and the more programs like that, the better.
"We need to be very careful about choosing programs that will benefit the people of West Virginia," she said. "There are programs out there that are interesting or sexy or look cool, but students don't always get the information they need to make informed decisions."
Under the governor's proposal, they'd have a better chance of getting all the facts because the businesses and training programs will have a more open exchange of information about what's needed. While there is some dialogue between business and training programs now, there needs to be more, said Kelley Goes, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Commerce.
"We want to produce the best graduates possible and have a continuing pipeline of marketable workers," she said. "Not that we don't have well-trained workers now. This is taking it to the next level to meet industries' needs."
Forging connections
To get the Training Bucks program going, Manchin has established a closer working relationship with all state agencies participating in workforce development. The players include higher education, community colleges, high school career technical centers, economic development and WORKFORCE Development, Goes said.
"In this regard, the 'Training Bucks' initiative is intended to coordinate existing training program funds to prevent duplication and overlapping and to make transparent to business and industry what they are and where to apply," she said. "If it is demonstrated that gaps exist in these training funds, they will be addressed."
All agencies in the workforce system have heard from businesses that can't find enough skilled workers, she said.
In some areas, the state is already doing well, already offering "expertise and strategic advantages in traditional industries such as chemicals, plastics, steel, glass, fabricated metals and value-added wood products," Goes said.
The state also offers a competitive location for growth industries such as aerospace, automotive, biometrics/biomedical technology, energy and environmental technology, as well as business services, information technology, tourism and printing, she said.
So now the state is working to develop a system that makes a database of workforce information available to the colleges and training programs, and to the business and industry side.
"The goal is to procure more timely information regarding skills needed by specific companies; education reacting to this demand; and tracking to provide measures of success," she said.
Still to be decided is how Training Bucks will work, Goes said. An early step is to develop memorandums of understanding between public agencies. This would define the cooperative exchange of information needed to coordinate programs, and marketing to business.
The proposal is part of the governor's appropriation package, and as a part of that, "Bucks for Jobs" is one supplemental appropriation.
Another arm of the "Bucks for Jobs" initiative is the "Bucks for Brains" program, which involves a $50 million endowment fund for Marshall and West Virginia universities to stimulate research. The intention is that the state's investment will be matched by private donations to strengthen the state's promising research departments that can develop viable commercial enterprises and high-tech jobs.
On the right track
Anything that West Virginia can do to move forward into today's high-tech economy is applauded, said Charlotte Weber, director and CEO of the Robert C. Byrd Institute, which operates technology centers in Huntington, South Charleston, Bridgeport and Rocket Center in the Eastern Panhandle.
The Byrd institute already focuses on industry-driven training, geared toward small and medium-sized manufacturers. It provides technical training aimed at enabling those manufacturers to compete in today's global marketplace.
"In addition to providing customized instruction for current employees of manufacturing companies, we're also working to create a pool of technical trained individuals who can go to work immediately in manufacturing companies on the shop floor," Weber said.
Across the country, machine shops are scrambling to find skilled workers who can perform a job that pays from $10 to $16 an hour to entry-level employees. RCBI responded to that need with its Machinist Technology Program, which offers classroom instruction and hands-on training.
Graduates earn certification by the National Institute for Metalworking Skills and have an opportunity to earn a two-year degree from the Marshall Community & Technical College or Potomac State College of West Virginia University. The RCBI program is the only one in the country to link national certification and an associate degree.
The program has a job placement rate of more than 90 percent, though some grads have opted to continue their education before joining the workforce.
"We're proud of the men and women who have completed training in our program," Weber said. "They've gone on to jobs in an industry known for providing the types of wages and benefits that it takes to buy a house and raise a family."
Demand in health fields
Another success story affiliated with MCTC is its Allied Health program. Its offerings are many, including training for personal trainers, dental assistants, surgical technicians and many other health-care jobs. It has received grants to establish new programs that will meet emerging needs.
It got a $220,000 state grant to start a clinical assistant program and point-of-care technician program, available now. MCTC also got more than $280,000 from the state and Verizon to provide training for entry-level biotechnology jobs. Those programs likely will be available in January 2009, Chappell said.
MCTC will train biotechnicians and provide an opportunity for those workers to get promoted after they get some experience and additional training under their belts. The demand comes from researchers at Marshall and Ohio University Southern, as well as companies like Alcon, Chappell said.
"We're working closely with medical school and Marshall to work toward something that is transitional. It's not gong to be terminal unless a student chooses for it to be," she said.
Manchin's proposal to re-assess industry needs and the training programs offered is progressive and something that's been needed for a long time, she said. It includes a $7 million supplemental appropriation for Allied Health expansion that she's especially excited about because the equipment needed for these emerging programs is expensive.
"We should coordinate and use our resources wisely. That's what we'll have to do, and that's the best thing for our students and our state," Chappell said.
It will be an ongoing process to determine what jobs are needed, she said. Those will change as time passes.
In health care, there continues to be a nursing shortage, but there's also a desperate need for physical therapy assistants, respiratory therapists and radiation therapists in the state. There is no histotechnician program in the state, Chappell said. Histotechnicians prepare slides of body tissue for microscopic examination by pathologists.
As the state continues to age, it will need more and more people with a focus on gerontology, diabetes and heart care. There are many areas in health care that are desperate for workers, but they're also enormously expensive, Chappell said.
"It was wise of Gov. Manchin to recognize that if we're going to be good stewards of our money, we have to work together to make the money last. It seems like a lot of money but equipment is so very expensive," she said.
'Positioned to deliver'
The governor's budget proposal addresses many of the key issues for the community and technical college, "So we're pleased," said Keith Cotroneo, president of Marshall Community and Technical College.
"The community colleges need to be better positioned to deliver, and there's funding within the governor's proposal to help us with that," Cotroneo said. "We're very limited right now in terms of space. There is bond money in the governor's budget to help with capital needs."
One of those needs is more lab space, he said. Without quality facilities, it would be difficult to meet training needs.
A continuing concern of Cotroneo, though, is that operating budgets for community colleges in West Virginia are under-funded compared with those in other states, Cotroneo said.
"To have operating money to do the job, we have to pass on those costs to the students, and our tuition rates in this state are higher than is typical," he said. "I came from Massachusetts, and in the Boston area, it was $110 a credit hour. We're at $121, so we're higher than Massachusetts, and that's a rich state.
"That's a concern, but you can't resolve all the problems at once. The governor's proposal does take steps in the right direction. I think his budget will give us more tools to do a better job, as far as workforce development, training and educational attainment."
7-day Archive
