College hopes to meet needs of community businesses
Four new academic programs and one redeveloped program will be offered starting the Fall 2010 semester at Schenectady County Community College in hopes of better preparing students for opportunities in the workforce.
The four latest course are Air Traffic Control A.A.S., Alternative Energy Technology A.A.S., Criminal Justice A.S. and Storage Battery Technology Certificate. Their Computer Networking and Systems A.A.S. program has been revamped and renamed Computer Networking Systems and Cyber Security.
The new programs exemplify the College’s role in partnering with local business and industry, such as GE, and remaining on the cutting edge of new opportunities in the workforce, said Denise Murphy McGraw, chair of SCCC board of trustees. `We are working directly with local industry to offer programs in emerging fields benefiting our students, the community and the economy.`
In April GE bestowed a $50,000 grant during the inauguration of college President Quintin Bullock to assist in buying equipment and other resources for the new advanced battery technologies and alterative energy academic programs.
`The college worked very closely with GE officals to develop coursework for GE’s needs,` said Bullock.
There were several meetings held to finalize the curriculum of the academic program and the college took advantage of experts at GE to identify equipment needs, said Bullock. The immediate cost for the course will be staffing, but Bullock was currently unsure how much equipments costs will total.
`We anticipate they will continue to hire our graduates for many years to come,` said Bullock. `We monitor the market and as long as there is a need for a program we offer it.`
While GE estimates a need for 350 technicians at their upcoming sodium storage battery plant in Schenectady, Bullock said there is an ongoing need to provide trained people in this particular career.
`Energy storage development and manufacturing require a variety of specialized skill sets that are not widely available,` said Tim Baechle, manufacturing leader for GE Energy Storage. `GE is excited to work with SCCC to develop the knowledge and skill sets needed in our community for next generation energy storage technology.`
For the alternative energy technology program the college also worked closely with GE in development of coursework. There are two areas within the program, wind and solar energy, so students will choose one to focus on. Several GE experts worked with the college to in developing the wind energy program, said Bullock.
`Future technicians need a solid, fundamental understanding of power generation, which the (alternative energy technology) program is designed to do,` said Dan Lance, global training leader for GE’s Renewable Energy business.. `This degree program from SCCC offers opportunities for students to go into the battery, solar or wind businesses, and gives them a solid foundation for gas or steam turbine as well.`
The Air Traffic Control program also tries to fill a need for qualified air traffic controllers locally and nationally. There are going to be a number of retirements occurring in the industry soon, said Bullock. The industry increased hiring in 2008 by 1,800 and the number is expected to exceed 2,000 till 2017, he noted.
To develop this program the college looked at the Community College of Beaver County’s aviation sciences program and the criteria for the Federal Aviation Administration’s requirements, said Bullock.“