Sept.11, 2019 – Collin College and Columbus State Community College recently received a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies Flexible Learning Expressway for Technology (FLEXTech) Apprenticeship Consortium grant. The DOL awarded a total grant of $3,788,691 million.
Collin College and Columbus State Community College are joining forces to create a national model for flexible apprenticeships in IT and IT-related industries to increase the number of workers in high-demand occupations. Both higher education institutions will partner with an industry consortium to design and implement apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs regionally, document their success, and disseminate the information across the country. Expansion partners include Florida State College at Jacksonville, Florida and Marion Technical College in Ohio.
According to Dr. Ann Beheler, co-director of the FLEXTech grant and executive director of emerging technology grants at Collin College, the grant supports all subdisciplines of IT, cybersecurity and programming, including emerging subdisciplines, and benefits students and employers.
“Students will have the skills employers are looking for because in addition to classes our program will focus on providing support services such as career coaching, tutoring, and workshops for learning employability skills, résumé writing, and interviewing skills for students in the first portion of their studies,” Beheler said. “Employers will have the opportunity to interview these students and mentor them in an industry apprenticeship, allowing students to earn salaries and gain experience in a work environment while they complete their classes.”
The consortium will leverage Columbus State Community College’s Workforce Advisory Council and Collin College’s Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) to support alignment with industry need. The partners will create a combined Employer and Education Consortium to establish new employer-driven IT apprenticeship pathways and expand existing pathways.
According to Dr. Don Weasenforth, vice president/provost of the Collin College Frisco Campus (Preston Ridge), currently IT-related industries are reliant on foreign workers with H-1B visas. This program is designed to nationally disseminate efforts intended to accelerate the large-scale expansion of apprenticeship opportunities in IT-related industries for all Americans.
“The consortium’s goal is to serve 1,600 apprentices, create and expand apprenticeship programs, and engage employers that adopt apprenticeship programs,” said Weasenforth.
For additional information, please call 972-377-1064.
Collin College serves more than 59,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The only public college based in Collin County, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and workforce development. In addition, the college operates the Collin Higher Education Center, which has an enrollment of 3,500 each year in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas. For more information about Collin College, visit www.collin.edu.