EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine April 2017 | Page 29
industry-recognized credentials, so once students complete TechHire,
they can advance, for example, into our new Associate of Science in
Engineering Technology degree, which includes a concentration in
Additive Manufacturing, then take it a step further to a bachelor’s in
engineering or information technology. We’re about helping people
rise up.”
The ATC admitted its first students nearly 20 years ago into the $32
million, 150,000 square foot facility just north of Williamson Boulevard
and LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach. Today, DSC offers training in
more than 50 programs at the ATC, including professional certificates that
can prepare students to become job-ready or be used as pathways to a
diverse array of associate degrees in such fields as Industrial Management
and Drafting and Design, or bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and
Information Technology. Among the newest ATC offerings are non-credit
IT and manufacturing-related certification courses that can be completed
in as little as six weeks.
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Nowhere is the demand for trained workers more evident than in
the area’s manufacturing sector, where industry leaders often struggle
to fill open positions. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
projects a more than 30-percent increase in the need for technology-savvy
workers in Volusia and Flagler Counties over the next decade. With
statistics showing that these jobs typically pay 50 percent more than the
average private-sector wage, the ATC hopes that prospective students will
begin to look at these career paths as tickets to the middle class and ramp
up recruitment.
“Attracting new students for industry training is about exposure,
making them aware of how much manufacturing has advanced,
providing options, and then connecting them with the education and
training opportunities that are relevant to the industry,” said Sherryl
Weems, who heads DSC’s College of Workforce, Continuing and Adult
Education. “We’ve adopted a holistic approach in our outreach efforts.
Our intention is to expose students to the big picture that is today’s
manufacturing industry, in addition to a particular skilled-trades focus,
because manufacturing today offers multiple highly-skilled, sophisticated
occupational pathways.”
“There is no other facility like this in the region,” said Frank Mercer,
director of DSC’s Center for Business and Industry, which primarily
provides just-in-time industry training for incumbent workers. “When
I bring a manufacturer who is interested in our ability to provide
customized training here for a tour, the facility often sells itself. If you’re
in manufacturing and you walk into the ATC atrium, you immediately get
the feeling that we are serious about what we are doing here.”
Howard Holley is President & CEO of The Holley
Group. Holley is also editor and publisher of
EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine.
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