Most of my professional career, I have benefited from hiring
students from tech schools, without actually visiting one. For the past two
decades, many of the industrial technicians or maintenance personnel were
graduates of programs like Ivy Tech, Augusta Tech, or Rosedale Tech. While
participating in Leadership Beaumont, I briefly toured the welding program at
Lamar Institute of Technology. Not until I became actively involved in
workforce readiness did I take the time to get a holistic view of what today’s
tech schools offer. This is not your 80s variety vocational training program…
Growing up, the closest post-secondary school in the county
was the Rice Belt Technical Institute. The only people that I personally knew
went for secretarial training. None of the graduates from my family ever gained
employment using those skills, so I never even considered the school as an
option for me.
Fast-forward to my first tour of modern-day workforce
development training and I visited one of the local Tennessee College of Applied
Technology (TCAT) campuses. The purpose of the visit was to understand the
regional best practice for effective adult education that leads to real employment
and advancement opportunities. The full-time programs range from twelve to
twenty months to complete. The format is meant to simulate an actual workday,
so students receive both classroom and hands on training, often dressed in uniformed
attire.
The initial topic of connection that struck me was the cost.
Between financial aid, the Tennessee Reconnect (http://tnreconnect.gov/), or the Tennessee
Promise (http://tnpromise.gov/), most
students can complete these program without building up long term debt related
to loans. This model proves that retraining efforts are within reach for adults
willing to commit the time to earn the certifications.
Walking through the various programs, another area of
connection was the engagement of the instructors. Each was working alongside
the students, demonstrating applied knowledge of the subject. When we walked
through the diesel maintenance shop, the instructor was underneath the frame,
but slid out to share information about student successes, employment
opportunities, salaries, and his program’s wait list (there is a huge demand
for his graduates, a testament to the workmanship he is instilling in his
students). Unique to the TCAT model, instructors are incentivized by their
program placement rates.
TCAT offers a wide range of technical career programs. To
learn the details of the full-time courses offered in the Memphis area, visit http://tcatmemphis.edu/fulltime-programs.
I suggest exploring the program details to learn about the contact hours,
potential certifications granted, and most importantly, the gainful employment
information. Since I was so impressed by the diesel technology program, here
are the linked examples of the kind of data you will find:
Be sure to click on the red consumer information tab, which
provides details about the SOC Code, program success rates, and job placement
rates. A 92% placement rate is best-in-class in my book!
I know the quality of the students and the value of this
type of education from a professional perspective. As a parent, a real test for
me will be how I feel about technical training programs personally if our son
comes home and informs us that he has chosen this route to pursue his career
goals, rather than going to a four-year college. What are your thoughts on the
career opportunities afforded from technical certification programs? Feel free
to comment or send me an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com.
If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions,
please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.
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