One of the valuable resources on green jobs and two-year college training programs to come out recently is the National Council for Workforce Education’s “Going Green” paper. It reinforces the critical role that community colleges play in developing a green workforce on the local and regional level and highlights the work being done at a [...]

As a first step into their investigation of Pennsylvania green occupations, researchers at Pennsylvania State University recently completed a benchmark study of four major green categories. The report, authored by Drs. Rose Baker and David Passmore of PSU, showed the growth of employment in representative green occupations in Pennsylvania from 2005-2008, broken down into categories [...]

After reading the National Council for Workforce Education’s paper on the role community colleges play in growing a green workforce, we thought it would be interesting to look at some data and employment trends for the sort of occupations employed at a company that manufactures wind turbines.
The NCWE report includes a typical employee profile for [...]

Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Nebraska, had an $89.3 million impact in 2006-07 for its 18-county service area, a recent EMSI impact study concluded. That total comes from the accumulated credits of former and current MPCC students, which result in higher earnings and increased employer profits.
In his review of the EMSI study, Dr. Michael [...]

Rebecca Bloomquist
Special Projects Coordinator – High Country Workforce Development Board
Region D High Country Council of Governments
Boone, North Carolina
Rebecca Bloomquist used EMSI’s database of labor market trends and projections to help Appalachian State University target high-growth industries and occupations for one of its college awareness programs. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) [...]

Like much of the Rust Belt, north central Ohio has been hit hard by the manufacturing sector’s decline. In the last two years, however, regional education providers and local planners have used a bioscience initiative to help create high-wage opportunities for the workforce in a predominantly rural area.
For a PDF of the case study: Ohio [...]

When Palm Beach Community College began to investigate adding what would be its first-ever bachelor’s program, it made sure to pick an offering that would meet the needs of a high-growth regional industry. After surveying industry trends and their associated workforce needs, PBCC opted for a four-year applied science program in supervision and management.
To read [...]

Here’s a nice example of stakeholders coming together and discussing their regional outlook from an economic and workforce development perspective. This article in the Daily Courier in Pennsylvania focuses on PA Prosperity Partnerships, which has a goal of “developing a long-term, sustainable, place-based economy, building on the existing strengths of the region by engaging the [...]

Like many two-year colleges across America, Tidewater Community College is experiencing an explosion in enrollment. One reason TCC is expanding at such a fast rate (9% from a year ago, double what was projected) is its emphasis on demand-driven programs that are ideal for displaced workers looking for new skills.
Here’s an interesting article from The [...]

Since the 1970s, former industrial sites in Rome, NY, have deteriorated, leaving behind abandoned buildings after the closure of companies like General Cable Corporation. City leaders, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations have started to clean up the plots of land and use them for redevelopment purposes.
To read the case study in PDF format: [...]