Page 36 - Westchester County - 2018 Economic Development Guide

WESTCHESTER SMART HIGHER EDUCATION
BUILDING THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
With its highly educated resi- dents, top-ranked schools, and outstanding high school graduation rates, it’s no wonder Westchester is known as New York’s Intellectual Capital.
With 47 percent of residents over 25 years of age holding a Bachelor’s degree or higher, Westchester is the most educated county in the United States – well exceeding the state average of 33 percent and the U.S. av- erage of 28 percent. In addition, 24 percent of those residents today have advanced degrees.
Westchester boasts 31 post-secondary educational institutions, including public and private two-year institutions and fully accredited universities that offer bachelors or advanced degrees in a wide range of fields, including medicine and law.
Since 1946, Westchester Community College (WCC) has provided affordable, qual- ity education to the community. Today, WCC is at the leading edge of the hottest trends in education and employment, to help meet the evolving needs of 21st century businesses.
BRIDGING THE SKILLS
GAP: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Middle skills jobs – those that require edu- cation beyond high school but less than a four-year degree – are a critical component of the contemporary workforce. In fact, in
NewYork State, 46 percent of anticipated job openings through 2022 are expected to be in this high-demand category.
As recognition for its workforce devel- opment expertise, Westchester Community College was awarded a $150,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase to analyze and develop a Middle Skills Gap Report for the Lower Hud- son Valley region. This was the first grant awarded by the firm to develop a report for a suburban setting.The 2016 report highlight- ed three top areas requiring middle-skilled workers: Health Information Management, Tech Support, and Hospitality Management. These findings are the basis for new aca- demic program development at the College to meet workforce demands in the region.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER
WCC’s Professional Development Center provides a wide range of employee training to individuals and organizations in West- chester County. Classes are offered at the or- ganization’s facilities, in classrooms at WCC locations, or online. Programs include cus- tomized training and training-related servic- es; courses for entrepreneurs; selected credit programs for new careers; public computer classes; and business classes.
JUST ADD ONE
Developed and funded by the Westchester- Putnam Workforce Development Board, Just Add One is a program offered byWestchester Community College to assist eligible small business owners in creating strategies to strengthen their business models/operations and make them more efficient, with the goal of helping each participating business grow and contribute to the economic growth in the region and grow enough to add at least one new employee to their operation.
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MICRO CREDENTIALING
The College supports students at all career stages with micro credentialing programs that provide documentation of competencies or certifications in a specific topic area. “We offer micro credentialing programs in IT for skills such as computer-aided design, user ex-
A WCC student receives training in respiratory care
perience, coding and cybersecurity, in health- care for phlebotomy and EKG, as well as cer- tifications in real estate and hospitality,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President of Westchester Community College. “We look forward to building exciting career pathways for the next generation of employees by teaching them the skills needed to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace.”
“Our objective is three-fold: build a sustainable pipeline of qualified em- ployees for local businesses, create jobs for our diverse workforce and fuel Westchester County’s economy.”
—Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Community College
CONNECT WITH WCC
The Professional Development Center
(Corporate Training for Businesses and NonProfits)
914-606-6658 James.irvine@sunywcc.edu
Director of Corporate Training
College Career Services
914-606-6760 careerservices@sunywcc.edu
Just Add One program
http://www.sunywcc.edu/continuing- ed/gateway-center/g2e/just-add-one- westchesterputnam/
Cybersecurity training at Westchester Community College
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE