Page 46 - SKILLS Workforce Development Guide 2021

For Students: Alternatives to College
training — including welding and HVAC programs.” Kleiner added that students who choose to participate
in these programs come from all kinds of locations and backgrounds, though many seem to hail from Westchester’s more urban areas. “Many of our customers are those who have barriers to employment — including lack of childcare, language challenges, and the challenges that accompany low incomes,” he says.
Westchester Community College (WCC) in Valhalla offers a wide variety of both degree and non-degree programs that help students develop and improve job skills so they can quickly enter the workforce.
One of the college’s most popular programs is a 189-hour, three-class workforce offering in advanced manufacturing. Participants earn four industry-recognized credentials. Other short-term certifications or workforce offerings at WCC include programs in product management, Python and Red Hat/Linux programming, cybersecurity, user experience, and historical preservation. The college also offers associate degree programs in healthcare fields including nursing, radiologic technology, respiratory care, paramedicine, and medical coding. WCC’s short-term workforce certifications in healthcare teach a variety of skills, such as how to work an EKG machine or draw blood.
“Westchester County is one of the most diverse counties in New York State, and our college represents this rich tapestry — racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically,” says Teresita Wisell, vice president of workforce development and community education at WCC. “WCC offers programs in exciting, high-demand fields, such as healthcare and cybersecurity, that attract a wide variety of students. We are an open-access institution of higher learning and meet all
our students where they are, either socioeconomically or in their college preparedness. Our students are a robust, cross- sectional representation of Westchester County.”
Wisell says the wide variety of vocation programs WCC offers is key for students. But another important factor is the convenience of the college’s locations across the county. In addition to its main campus in Valhalla, WCC has extension centers in Mount Vernon, Ossining, Peekskill, and Yonkers which offer many of its workforce programs. There’s also a
44 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
Top of page: The Westchester-Putnam Career Center Network provides financial support to jobseekers to participate in training programs. Individual Training Account (ITA) vouchers are issued
to eligible candidates to help pay for training. Pictured are ITA graduates during their completion ceremony in 2018 at The Gateway Center at WCC.
Above: More than 50 Westchester educators took a bus tour in 2019 to learn about career pathways in advanced manufacturing and energy/utilities. The educators then shared what they had learned with the region’s high school students and parents.
© Sherry Bruck, Harquin Creative © Sherry Bruck, Harquin Creative