Page 28 - 2020 Chester County Chamber Guide & Mebership Directory

EDUCATION
Spotlight on Skills
In education-rich Chester County, workforce development is a focus
Chester County boasts both quantity and quality in its educational offerings. Public, private and parochial schools abound at all levels throughout the county and at least eight institutions of higher learning widen choice for residents and out-of-towners — not only for earning degrees but also for updating workplace skills, changing careers and feeding a love of learning.
Almost 200 public schools make up Chester’s 14 school districts. Charter schools, cyber charters and more than 100 private and parochial schools add to the choices.
Attendance and graduation rates top state averages, as do test scores, enrollments in Advanced Placement courses and college acceptances. More than half of Chester County’s 524,000 residents have bachelor’s degrees.
Interest in career readiness and workforce development continues to run high throughout secondary and higher education in the county. Some of the colleges have even drawn inspiration from the coronavirus and its ensuing effects for new courses of study.
At Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, there has long been a commitment to preparing students for high-demand occupations in science, technology and education. Now, groundbreaking public- private partnerships and a state-of-the-art Science Center are bringing new career- enhancing opportunities to campus. As part of the resurgence efforts at Cheyney, the nation’s oldest HBCU (Historically Black College and University), these partnerships provide financial stability and benefits for the entire academic program.
Several biotech companies have already located in the Science Center, making paid internships available to Cheyney students and sharing their research in cancer studies, pharmaceuticals and analytical sciences. Those corporate partners include Epcot Crenshaw Corporation, which develops technologies to solve environmental problems; ASI Chemicals, a startup that manufactures chemicals for pharmaceutical products; and Navrogen, a research and development company focused on cancer research.
Immaculata University
DE County Community College
Several more corporate partners are scheduled to move to campus. These allow students and faculty to leverage business opportunities that create new career pathways right on campus. For example,
a solar panel manufacturing company is planning to create 100 permanent jobs.
“Over the last two years, the university’s resurgence efforts have contributed to the fiscal stability and completely revitalized the school,” said Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton. “These accomplishments will establish the university as a leader in workforce development in the region and across the state.”
Immaculata University in Malvern keeps its courses of study fresh by responding to industry needs, student interests and devotion to 21st-century skills.
“The drive within workforce development and career readiness is these skills,” said Angela Tekely, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Immaculata. “Employers want to ensure that employees have transferable skills as they work on different projects and interface with different constituencies beyond what is germane to their industry.”
Skills such as problem solving, working collaboratively, building effective teams
Immaculata University
and thinking creatively and critically spring naturally from Immaculata’s liberal arts tradition. At the same time, Immaculata’s most popular majors are nursing, business and education. And the 2,500-student university is adding degrees in response to industry needs: financial planning, supply chain management, athletic training and healthcare management.
“Immaculata University consistently works with advisory boards, comprised of industry leaders, to update curriculum that is responsive to changes in their respective industries,” said Tekely.
Those close relationships also lead to internships and other work experiences for 93 percent of Immaculata’s undergraduates.
Even the coronavirus presents opportunities. The university is looking at businesses and industries differently and will be offering a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Planning and Management, in response to both student interest and business leaders’ need to hire individuals with the ability to design and execute business continuity plans, Tekely explained.
Delaware County Community College
(DCCC) has long been focused on career pathways for students in both Chester and Delaware counties. Pathways often begin with short-term certification trainings that lead to livable wages, but those certifications can also earn a student academic credits toward an associate degree.
The most popular areas of study for Chester County students are Health Studies, Pre- nursing, Nursing, Business Administration and Science for Health Professions. Students
26 Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry 26 Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry