Kingsborough Community College, Center for Economic and Workforce Development
The Northeast Resiliency Consortium
September 26, 2013
Kingsborough Community College (KCC) has just been awarded a $3.8 million Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (DOL TAACCCT) grant. The TAACCCT program, administered by the US Department of Labor in collaboration with the US Department of Education, is a multi-year initiative seeking to expand training programs for workers impacted by foreign trade and other under- and unemployed workers. Round 1 funding, awarded in September 2011, supports CUNY CareerPATH, a highly successful program led by KCC and the CUNY Central Office that prepares people for employment and college through credit bearing occupational training. Round 3 will fund the Northeast Resiliency Consortium, a regional collaboration led by Passaic County Community College.
The Northeast Resiliency Consortium (NRC), a collaboration of seven east coast colleges—Atlantic Cape (NJ), Bunker Hill (MA), Capital (CT), Housatonic (MA), Kingsborough (NY), LaGuardia (NY) and lead, Passaic County (NJ) Community Colleges—in partnership with Achieving the Dream and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, will train a highly skilled and resilient workforce that is prepared to mitigate the short- and long-term vulnerabilities and risks resulting from disasters and crises. The institutions that make up this consortium bring with them experiences responding to and recovering from recent disasters including Superstorm Sandy, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings.
NRC will prepare trade-impacted workers, veterans and other individuals for employment and career advancement in three key high-growth sectors (health care, information technology and environmental technologies) that play a critical role in times of crisis. NRC will work with employers to identify in-demand skills and competencies, establish transferable and stackable credentials, and create industry-recognized certificates in response to labor market data.
As part of the NRC, KCC will focus on training health care workers who play a critical role in times of crisis. The areas of training include CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor), EMT/Paramedic, Certified Medical Assistant, Community Healthcare Worker as well as a Foreign Language for Healthcare credential. Trainings in Food Service with a focus on nutrition and customer service will also be offered as well as Food Safety training for incumbent HHAs, PCAs, CNAs.
Kingsborough’s Center for Economic and Workforce Development (CEWD) and Office of Continuing Education are proud to be offered the opportunity to work with such a remarkable team of organizations, institutions, educators and industry experts on such a significant program. As the world around us changes, both environmentally and socially, building a relevant and resilient workforce that is capable of preparing for and reacting to future crises is of the utmost importance.
Read the news release here: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20131932.htm