What’s New in 2018

From creating career pathways in the growing field of renewable energy to helping entrepreneurs start a new business, community colleges in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties have dedicated the new year to building high-demand, industry-ready skills.

“Right now, in the state of California, there are over 1 million jobs that are unfilled because there are not enough people with the skills that those jobs require,” said Vanessa Thomas, Associate Dean of Strong Workforce at Chaffey College, part of the Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium of community colleges. “We have students who already have bachelor’s degrees, but they’re enrolling at community college workforce programs because they need the practical skills employers want, and we are the most cost-effective way of doing that.”

Mechatronics – which combines mechanical engineering, hydraulics, electronics, robotics and computers – is Exhibit A. Because of the increasingly critical role that mechatronics plays in manufacturing and distribution centers today, Chaffey College on Jan. 11 launched a 160-hour Mechatronics Basic course at the InTech Learning Center, a public-private partnership between Inland Empire community colleges and California Steel Industries. The course is designed to decrease the “skills gap” in these essential industries. A second course is set to run on Monday and Wednesday nights, from April 4 through Aug. 22.

“Distribution centers in the region are a huge industry, and everything in those centers is automated and driven by mechatronics,” Thomas said. “Same thing with food manufacturing. I was watching the Tournament of Roses Parade, and a lot of those floats are controlled through mechatronics. It’s everywhere.”

Which is why Elmano Alvis, an instructor at Chaffey College’s Economic Development Department, is working with Norco, San Bernardino Valley, Barstow and Chaffey Colleges to develop an upgraded and enhanced curriculum leading to certificates and degrees at those colleges. Some of those certificates may offered as early as this fall, Alves said.

“These are some of the top-paying jobs you’ll find in the field,” said Alves, who added that an experienced mechatronics technician can earn upward of $40 per hour. “And our employers are having a hard time filling their job openings.”

Other career education programs being developed or bolstered this year at community colleges in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties include:

• Advanced Transportation and Alternative Energy.
  Nine community colleges (Barstow, Chaffey, College of the Desert, Copper Mountain, Mt. San Jacinto, Palo Verde, Riverside City, San Bernardino and Victor Valley) are modernizing their automotive labs, acquiring electric and hybrid vehicles, and securing the necessary diagnostic tools to prepare students for lucrative jobs in this growing field. “We are constantly working on professional development and updating the curriculum,” said Larry McLaughlin, who as Deputy Sector Navigator working from the College of the Desert is responsible for aligning community college curriculum with regional industry needs. “The technology is continually changing. The challenge is keeping pace as the industry evolves.”

  Those changes include preparing students to work on the emerging autonomous vehicle market. “Autonomous vehicle systems are coming onto the market fast,” McLaughlin said. “A lot of vehicles today already have autonomous braking systems and driver-assisted steering. That’s happening now. And ultimately, this will develop into fully autonomous vehicles. This is not a fantasy anymore.”

  In addition, College of the Desert and Victor Valley College are collaborating with the growing utility-scale solar energy industry in developing 180-hour workforce training programs in that area. “We have some of the largest utility-scale solar energy facilities in the world,” McLaughlin said. “The jobs are not only out there, but the opportunities are expanding.” This spring, students taking part in a 60-hour Solar Photovoltaic Principles and Applications course offered by College of the Desert will be prepared to install and maintain residential solar panels.

• Entrepreneurship.
  Fewer than two-thirds of new businesses survive their first year, and just half survive at least five years. That’s why eight community colleges (Crafton Hills, Mt. San Jacinto, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino Valley, Barstow, College of the Desert, Riverside City and Chaffey) are developing business incubators and makerspaces. The effort will focus on expanding the necessary knowledge and skills for students to develop successful careers as entrepreneurs. It will also provide the space and resources they need to develop their product ideas and grow their businesses.

  “The idea is that if someone wants to come in, they can have a space, along with access to mentors, equipment and curriculum, so they can have a better idea of how to go about starting and running a business,” said Lisa Kiplinger-Kennedy, who serves as the regional small business deputy sector navigator for the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program.

  Kiplinger-Kennedy noted that the incubator/makerspaces are open to all. “We want to give our students a place to go, but we also want to make it available to the community, so that they can be aware of what their community colleges have to offer.”

  To help prospective business owners network, the Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium has partnered with the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization to revive entrepreneurship clubs at all 12 campuses in the area. Guest speakers, entrepreneur-themed movie nights and trips to local business incubators and co-working spaces are among the services provided.

• Nursing.
  Clinical rotations that enable nursing students to secure on-the-job training at a medical center, clinic, or nursing facility are a required part of any legitimate nursing education program. But the lack of clinical site placements is a barrier to increasing capacity in nursing programs (as well as other allied health programs). Thus, eight community colleges with nursing programs in the region are obtaining the funding needed to hire a Clinical Site Nursing Coordinator to place students at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Regional placement coordinators will communicate with each other to ensure that there is no overlapping of students from different institutions on a single ward in a hospital, and will also be responsible for exploring other potential clinical and community sites. An increase in placements will result in an increased ability to meet student learning needs, and perhaps expand the capacity of regional allied health and nursing programs.
• Commercial Driving.
  Copper Mountain College is embarking on a comprehensive study for a regional tractor-trailer operator certificate program that could be offered at multiple colleges in the region. The study will identify potential industry partners at a time when they anticipate nearly 3,200 new job openings before 2020. Currently, the statewide marketplace for occupational training is dominated by private, for-profit driving schools. With this new potential program, those interested in pursuing a career as a big-rig, commercial or bus driver would suddenly find themselves with a far more affordable option — a community college-level certification.

“When it comes to workforce training, community colleges are the way to go,” said Thomas.