Wednesday, April 4, 2012

NEWS LINKS | April 4, 2012

SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges


 

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

 

Career retraining may be answer to longtime jobless

SkillSource, a non-profit organization, works closely with the state Employment Security Department and its job placement service, WorkSource, to help train people and find them jobs … Kristi Hills, grant facilitator for Wenatchee Valley College’s Worker Retraining Program, helps workers make employment changes. Degree and certificate programs range from accounting and computer technology to criminal justice, nursing, medical lab work, refrigeration and welding. The programs have helped more than 116,000 unemployed workers in the state train for new jobs since created by the Workforce Employment and Training Act in 1993.

Wenatchee World, March 31, 2012

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/mar/31/career-retraining-may-be-answer-to-longtime/

 

Six stories: Job retraining programs offer hope

SkillSource and Wenatchee Valley College’s Worker Retraining Program don’t guarantee anyone a job, but the programs do offer a way to improve the chances of finding one — along with healthy doses of hope and encouragement.  Here are stories from … Janelle Davies and five others who have turned to retraining after becoming unemployed.

Wenatchee World, April 1, 2012

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/apr/01/six-stories-job-retraining-programs-offer-hope/

 

'Exceptional' hospice volunteer comforts patients

Van Phan immigrated to America following the Vietnam War. Her husband had been killed in 1975, leaving her with the task of raising five children as a single mom. "I lost everything," she said. She and her children were held in a detention camp for seven years. Phan, a devoted Catholic, said she asked God to bring her and her children to freedom in America. She obtained a nursing degree from Everett Community College, while raising her children.

The Herald, April 3, 2012

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120403/NEWS01/704039921

 

College student and mother of two speaks out about the benefits of the Open Course Library

Lindsey Cassels is a [Clover Park Technical College] student and a parent who has greatly benefited from access to the Open Course Library, a Washington State project that provides free or drastically cheapened online college materials for dozens of community college courses. She's benefitted so much, in fact, that she's become an OCL advocate. … I took Public Speaking with Dr. Phil Vendetti in the spring quarter, and he introduced it to us. When I compared it to typical courses where we weren't using the OCL, I found it to be so much more flexible and easy for any student going to college. It's very beneficial for anyone using it.

Education Insider, April 4, 2012

http://education-portal.com/articles/Interview_with_Lindsey_Cassels.html

 

 

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

 

How to End Remediation

Connecticut lawmakers want to eliminate all non-credit remedial courses. While a compromise is likely to emerge, the state's approach is seen as visionary by some, foolish by others.

Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2012

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/04/04/connecticut-legislature-mulls-elimination-remedial-courses#.T3xlR5FrkQU.email

 

Where the Jobs Are

Between 2010 and 2020, people 55 and older are projected to be the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor force, according to the 2012-13 Occupational Outlook Handbook, a jobs forecast released March 29 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, healthcare professions are among of the nation's fastest-growing occupations.

A snapshot of workplace trends that are especially significant for people 40 and older …
Second Act, April 3 2012

http://www.secondact.com/2012/04/population-changes-drive-us-job-trends-through-2020/

 

A Tally of Green Jobs

For the first time, the federal government on Thursday released an estimate of the number of so-called green jobs in the United States economy, saying that 3.1 million people are employed in the production of goods and services that benefit the environment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the Labor Department, spent more than a year compiling its report, which found that green goods and services accounted for 2.4 percent of total United States employment in 2010. The study, based on a survey of employers and a relatively broad definition of the term ”green,” will provide a baseline against which future job growth or decline can be measured.

The New York Times, March 22, 2012

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/a-tally-of-green-jobs/

 

Plumbers Need Post-Secondary Education, Too

I think Kevin [Drum]’s critique is off-base and a lot of this comes down to confusion between the terms “college” and “post-secondary education.” …  "College” is one kind of post-secondary education, but so are lots of other things: community college, four-year school, vocational training, apprenticeship. …  we can’t simply rely on America’s high schools to “turn out plumbers” through a renewed focus on secondary vocational education, because actually training someone to be a plumber requires a lot more in the way of on-the-job training and additional formal education. America needs both plumbers and English majors and both require post-secondary education.

The Quick & the Ed, March 9, 2012

http://www.quickanded.com/2012/03/plumbers-need-post-secondary-education-too.html

 

 

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

 

Special session's in fourth week; no end in sight

The Olympian, April 4, 2012

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/04/03/2056373/special-sessions-in-fourth-week.html

 

 


Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges

1300 Quince St SE | PO Box 42495 | Olympia, Washington 98504 | www.sbctc.edu 

 

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Sherry Nelson | communications and outreach associate

Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
1300 Quince St SE · PO Box 42495 · Olympia WA 98504-2495
slnelson@sbctc.edu | p (360) 704-4308 | f (360) 704-4415  | c (206) 369-6509

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