GCC awarded more than $145,000 for education project

Press release:

The State University of New York Community College Collaborative recently announced that $14,633,390 has been awarded for the Training and Education in Advanced Manufacturing (T.E.A.M.) Educational Pathways Project.

GCC's allocation was $145,348 from the collective pool of T.E.A.M. funding for all 30 New York community colleges, which is subsidized through the U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Training Grant Program.

It will ultimately provide more than 3,000 of New York's trade adjustment assistance-eligible workers and unemployed veterans with the education and training necessary to secure high-quality, high-wage jobs in the advanced manufacturing industry.

The T.E.A.M. Educational Pathways Project aligns advanced manufacturing industrial career pathways and third-party certifications for participating students to attain credentials and degrees in two years or less. The targeted industries for the Pathways Project include: advanced manufacturing, plastic and all its related sub-industries, optics, photovoltaics, precision machining/CNC, semi-conductor, and nanotechnology.

A statewide process for designing and offering training and education programs will be developed to replicate the T.E.A.M. model across all community colleges and all academic programs in the applied and occupational sciences.

The Pathways project will also allow the SUNY Statewide Community College Collaborative to leverage additional funding opportunities, such as $20 million in the SUNY2020 capital funds, and a $5 million proposal to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Workforce Innovation Fund in partnership with New York State DOL.

The T.E.A.M. Educational Pathways Project incorporates the following eight key strategies:

(1) Develop and promote educational pathways in advanced manufacturing with clear entry and exit points;

(2) Build and offer uniform core and specialty curricula based on the USDOL competency model for advanced manufacturing and incorporate the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System;

(3) Validate new and existing curriculum with industry at state, local and national levels;

(4) Build and offer fast track developmental education curricula in advanced manufacturing programs;

(5) Offer core specialty and developmental education courses online and in other delivery formats;

(6) Build and offer a uniform statewide system for awarding academic credit through prior learning assessment;

(7) Provide centralized student services through campus-based T.E.A.M. Centers in partnership with public workforce systems;

(8) And build and implement a coordinated statewide approach to outreach, recruit, and "earn and learn" models for the advanced manufacturing industry.

A series of existing credentials, both credit and noncredit, will be incorporated into the training program, including but not limited to: ACT's Work Readiness System (National Career Readiness Certificate/NCRC), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC), and National Institute of Manufacturing Metalworking Skills (NIMS). Additional training to support or enhance core and specialty curricula will be based on employer demand to include Six Sigma, OSHA standards, EntreSkills and web-based programs offered by the NYS Small Business Development Center.

"Genesee Community College is delighted to be the local partner in a national initiative designed to sharpen the competitive edge of our manufacturing sector," President Jim Sunser said. "Together as partners, the Pathways Project will allow community colleges to bring the very finest, most up to date training programs to our workforce and business community."

Through the grant, GCC will hire three adjunct faculty members to not only teach designated courses, but to also participate in the collaborative developmental meetings and planning process. In addition, the grant will allow the college to purchase equipment in support of its academic programs.