New Owensboro Community and Technical College programs recapped at Rotary Club of Owensboro meeting
Sheri Plain, Director of Community, Workforce, and Economic Development at Owensboro Community and Technical College, spoke at a recent Rotary Club of Owensboro Meeting to recap the success of the new programs instituted by the school in 2022.
The success of new programs introduced by Owensboro Community and Technical College were highlighted at a recent Rotary Club of Kentucky Meeting by Sheri Plain, the Director of Community, Workforce, and Economic Development at Owensboro Community and Technical College. The meeting was held at Wesleyan College.
In July, Owensboro Community and Technical College partnered with Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, Daviess County Detention Center, Daviess County Fiscal Court, and the City of Owensboro to launch the Reentry Success Program. The purpose of the program is to provide education and training to incarcerated people so that they can be prepared for meaningful employment upon their release.
Plain was quoted by the Messenger Inquirer on the program, saying, “It truly has been a community project to get it going. It offers those inmates relative skills trainings before they ever leave. This program is designed to give them that training before they ever leave.”
So far there have been three cohorts with a total of 15 participants involved in the program. The first cohort started in July, the second in September, and third in November.
Every single participant has received their Enhanced Operator I Certificate. Some of the topics that were covered in the program were workplace principles, hand and power tools, problem solving, safety, and lean operations.
The graduates of the Reentry Success Program have gone on to interview at local businesses such as Toyotetsu Mid America, OMICO Plastics, UniFirst, and Sun Windows.
A partnership was also started between the school and Owensboro Health, with funding by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, to provide Medical Technician certificates to Owensboro Health employees.
Plain addressed this program with the Rotary Club meeting attendants, saying, “The idea is for Owensboro Health employees to have an additional patient care career path option. This came from lots of conversations with hospital employees and leaders who really wanted to do something like this.”
The program uses a Work and Learn Model where students are hired and paid by Owensboro Health, while also earning school credit from Owensboro Community and Technical College.
Plain stated the value of the program was that students who might be unsure if they are cut out for the medical field can get on the job experience before completing an entire degree.
Owensboro Community and Technical College also started a State Registered Nurse Aide program in partnership with long term care facilities, which was funded by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Plain noted the worker shortage in the long term care field: “The idea is that our long-term care facilities and nursing homes are really suffering with a shortage of certified nursing assistants.”
The program offers solutions to skill and worker shortages in long term facilities all over Kentucky.
“The state recognized that Owensboro is on the ball so they gave us some extra slots so we could serve more than the 30 we had originally hoped for,” Plain said.
The program’s goal was to have 525 across the state, with between 30 and 40 becoming SNRAs. Plain said so far nearly 50 students have shown interest.
The costs for the program, including testing, fees, and tuition will be covered at four progress points with a $1000 incentive.
Yet another introduced program was the Industrial Technology Enhanced Credentials program, which is a partnership with Commonwealth Aluminum. The goal of this program is to provide a competency-based and flexible training option for dislocated and incumbent workers.
Plain explained how the program opens opportunities for advancement for more workers, saying, “It’s a solution for those already working in manufacturing who, because of their schedules, because of their life, they can’t attend our college’s academic course offerings, or dislocated workers who find themselves without a job and need to market themselves to get back into the workplace.”
The program started back in August with 28 participants with six Owensboro Community and Technical College Manufacturing Certificates available.
“These are college courses but they’re redesigned for those who have some level of manufacturing knowledge,” explained Plain.
The school has also been working alongside CPE on a Workforce Trust Project that started back in July. That program runs much the same way as the Industrial Technology Enhanced Credentials program and offers competency-based welding and industrial maintenance courses.
Owensboro Community and Technical College also partnered with The International Center, the college’s SkillTrain Adult Education center, and TTMA to create the TTMA Refugee Program.
This program provides refugees with skilled trades instruction and integrated ELS instruction.
To date, over 200 ESL TTMA employees who work both day and evening shifts have taken part in this program.
Owensboro Community and Technical College has also partnered with national and statewide organizations such as zSpace to create a virtual reality program for a capstone course in manufacturing, which has trained over 300 college students.
Plain talked about the work the program has done thus far: “(zSpace) is considered the leader in virtual reality development. The team at OCTC is so excited to work with this company.”
The virtual reality program is receiving feedback from industry leaders such as Boeing, Toyota, and TTMA as well.
Finally, the college launched a Commercial Driver’s License program for students with little or no commercial driving experience and connects them with an entry-level position in the transportation industry. The course is four weeks long with monthly cohorts.
More information about Owensboro Community and Technical College can be found at the school’s website.