March
2002
Workforce
development in information technology
In
this time of change, there is an innovative program in place at
Mercer County Community College and Middlesex County College to
assist people in switching to a career in information technology
(IT) and to assist organizations to carry out skills- upgrading
for their current IT staff. The program is called The Central New
Jersey centers for Workforce Excellence in Information Technology
(the IT Centers).
The
catalyst for the establishment of the IT Centers was a $3 million
workforce-development grant from the US Department of Labor. The
grant was awarded to the Mercer County Workforce Investment Board
and is being administered through a joint effort of Mercer and Middlesex
county colleges and the workforce investment boards in both counties.
Mercer County Community College is the lead contractor servicing
the grant through their Division of Corporate and Community Programs
(DCCP).
The
IT Centers work in conjunction with business, industry, union, state,
county and community organizations to identify people and organizations
that may benefit from the training programs offered. The IT Centers
offer a range of programs and courses from 12-week intensive career
courses in network administration and Web page development, to 30
hour courses in Windows 2000 migration and object-oriented design
and development. The programs and courses are all posted on the
IT Centers Web site (www.nj-itcenters.com)
along with an online application form.
The
IT Centers also cosponsor short expert-panel technology sessions
and management-update sessions that cover topical areas in IT. These
sessions provide a forum for discussion among organizations and
create a dialog between the IT Centers and businesses, enabling
the IT Centers to identify and create the skills-upgrade courses
and programs needed for business to stay effective and competitive
in their utilization of IT.
The
IT Centers, as part of both Mercer and Middlesex Colleges, combine
with the colleges to provide a wide range of standard courses for
individuals and organizations, as well as customized courses for
organizations.
If
you are interested in learning what the IT Centers can offer individuals
or organizations, you can contact them through the Web site or by
calling the IT Centers project coordinator, Jean Chianese, at 609-586-4800,
Ext. 3634.
