Daytona State grant to expand job training programs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 21, 2012) - Daytona State College will receive nearly $850,000 over the next four years as part of a consortium of 12 Florida colleges awarded a $15 million grant by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop advanced workforce training programs.

The consortium’s grant award is part of the labor department’s Training Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training initiative, which dedicated $500 million in grants to community colleges and universities across the country to develop and expand innovative training programs. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis announced the awards this week at St. Petersburg College, the lead institution in the Florida consortium, called Florida TRADE – Transforming Resources for Accelerated Degrees and Employment.

Daytona State will use its portion of the award to create a multi-step training process focused on the region’s workers and industry needs. Specifically, the process will:

• help participants gain entry-level employment in manufacturing, then advance in their careers with a unified and portable education plan based on nationally recognized industry certifications

• utilize local employers to serve on an advisory board and provide internships and jobs.

“Program participants would initially undergo an assessment of their basic skills, then be introduced to various manufacturing careers by job shadowing with local employers and participating in sample courses,” said Mary Bruno, associate vice president for the School of Workforce and Continuing Education. “Core skills training would follow, where students would first earn the nationally recognized MSSC-CPT (Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Certified Production Technician) credential and advance to the NIMS (National Institute of Metalworking Skills) credential, which indicates they are prepared for entry-level employment in manufacturing.”

National certifications also would be available to students in computer numerical control (CNC), occupational safety and health, quality, AutoCAD and welding, she said.

Daytona State also will establish an advisory board of local employers to provide internships and jobs for program participants, who also would be recruited into engineering technology-related certificates, associate of science and bachelor’s degrees offered by the college.

The program will particularly target veterans returning from overseas and clients of the Volusia/Flagler Center for Business Excellence.

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