Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is helping workers in Southwest Ohio ready for the coming green work revolution, with its emerging
Center for Innovative Technologies.
Students and funders are taking notice. The college's enrollment jumped 23.5 percent over 2008, to an all time high of 10,056. And in September, Cincinnati state won a $10,000 Excellence in Green Building Curriculum Incentive Grant from the U.S. Green Building Council for its certificate program in sustainable design and construction. It was the country's only community college that received that grant.
The Center for Innovative Technologies is the only one of its kind in Greater Cincinnati, offering more than 35 degrees, programs and certificates designed to develop the next generation of highly skilled workers.
"With a shift in the market, we're training people to get living-wage jobs, whether that's installing solar cells, sustainable construction, or design," says Ralph Wells, the college's certificate chair for sustainable design and construction. "We also look at what skills the business community says it's looking for."
The center was launched to train, or retrain, workers as technology drives a transformation in construction, medical, engineering, communications, aviation and other areas. In addition, the college offers a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency major in Electro- Mechanical Engineering Technology.
Several areas in particular stick out with Cincinnati State's programs. There's the college's
Workforce Development Center , which offers training for those seeking certification to install solar photovoltaic systems. There's also the college's co-op program that allows students to get paid work experience and a chance for employment after graduation with companies like Duke Energy, Procter & Gamble, Melink Corp. and Mazal Corp.
Source: Ralph Wells, Cincinnati State
Writer: Feoshia Henderson