MATC investing millions to create a skilled labor force

Milwaukee Area Technical College's new education initiatives are praised in the latest issue of the Milwaukee Business Journal.  Jeff Engel writes: 

 

Milwaukee Area Technical College is investing millions into its programs to address the region’s talent shortage and has added dozens of new programs since 2011, president Michael Burke said.
The school also recently received a more than $1 million federal grant to provide advanced manufacturing support for the community, Burke said.

Southeastern Wisconsin employers, particularly manufacturers, say they’re struggling to find candidates for open positions with the right skill sets, despite high unemployment.
As part of its response to that need, MATC has added eight degrees, 15 technical diplomas and 24 certificates since 2011, Burke said. Those include a new welding certificate, a diploma in Web/mobile designer technology, and degrees in automotive technology, health care services management and computer simulation and gaming.

“These are all industry-certified skill sets,” Burke said. “I think this speaks to the evolution of our work force. I think it’s our responsibility to provide those, not necessarily degrees, but find industry skill sets that we can certify that students can layer on top of one another in essence to find that market niche in our work force arena here — or create a job (that didn’t exist before).”

Burke spoke during an education roundtable discussion Nov. 13 hosted by The Business Journal at The Pfister Hotel. Panelists — including leaders from technical colleges, private universities and two-year and four-year public colleges — shared the variety of ways their institutions are trying to bridge the gap for employers.

The rest of the article is linked here.