Community and Technical College System Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Landscape Trade Organization Hopes To Bolster Workforce, Provide Training

The West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association is training hopeful technicians to bolster the industry’s undermanned workforce as part of an initiative with the state’s national guard.

The program, located in Dunbar, trains students in landscaping basics including insect and disease management, pruning and lawn care. Potential workers can receive course certification through the program.

Michael Biafore, chairman of the agency’s workforce development committee, says it’s the first formal training for the career path to happen within the state.

“In West Virginia, the landscape industry, through 2022, grew six percent. And we expect to grow another four percent in the coming years,” Biafore said. “The problem is, that need keeps growing, but there aren’t any employees coming in to answer the call.”

The program was created under the umbrella of the state’s Jobs and Hope program, which helps those recovering from substance use disorder find their future career. Biafore says he’d like to see the program become a consistent pipeline for workers.

“We have turned to people that were maybe disadvantaged for whatever reason, and need a vehicle to come back into society, and earn a living and be productive,” Biafore said.

The program was created in tandem with similar training the association is implementing for students involved in trade school, with a program at Pierpont Community and Technical College last spring semester.

“We’re hoping to do it again this fall, our ultimate goal is to keep building on that and expanding that program,” Biafore said. “So one day, we will get to the level of some of our surrounding states with this curriculum.”

The program’s next training event is scheduled from May 15 to 19. Another program is also tentatively planned for this summer at Camp Dawson in Preston County. Biafore says they’re hoping to organize these training sessions up to four times a year.

Those interested can sign up at the Nursery and Landscape Association’s website.

Tourism Education Initiative Planned To Support Anticipated Jobs

The Shape Our Future educational program has launched an updated hospitality and tourism curriculum in all 55 counties. It’s meant to help the career path become more viable for students at community and technical colleges.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism is launching an education initiative in anticipation of a boom in tourism jobs across the state.

Other significant parts of the program include a program for high schoolers to receive college credit, grant funding from the Departments of Education and Tourism for students to create tourism infrastructure projects on public lands and a shift in the state’s Discover Your Future program to highlight future careers in tourism at middle schools.

The college program is part of a workforce development initiative called Tourism Works. It was created to support a growing state tourism industry. The state’s Higher Education Policy Commission predicts there will be 21,000 annual tourism openings through 2025.

“We’ve all heard people say there are no jobs in West Virginia, that you’re gonna have to move when you graduate, but that’s not true,” Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said to a group of students at Nicholas County Career and Technical College.

She announced the program at the college Tuesday alongside Gov. Jim Justice.

Plans for further expansion of the program are scheduled for next year. A tourism marketing specialization will also be launched as part of the curriculum this fall.

Second Year Of Financial Aid Webinars Launches To Help Students, Families

Prospective college students and their families around the state can attend a new series of financial aid webinars aimed at helping them navigate the process of seeking a degree.

More than $100 million is available in financial aid annually in West Virginia, and state officials say the webinars can help students better understand what is available to them.

“We reached so many people last year through our financial aid webinars during the pandemic, so we wanted to keep it going again this year,” said Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of both the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.

Tucker said during the pandemic, all of the traditionally in-person financial aid events held at high schools were canceled. She said putting them online, however, allowed them to reach more students than before.

“I encourage West Virginians to join us, ask questions, and learn about the numerous programs that make college incredibly affordable and accessible in West Virginia,” Tucker said.

Twenty financial aid webinars will be held from Sept. 13 through April 5.

They’ll cover things like the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Promise Scholarship, the West Virginia Invests Grant and several others.

View the full calendar of events here.

More information can be found at collegeforwv.com.

Skilled Jobs without a Bachelor's Degree

American Graduate: Getting to Work

Public Media Initiative to Advance Education and Career Readiness

WVPB received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for the American Graduate: Getting to Work initiative to help advance education and career readiness in West Virginia. The station will work with partners throughout the state to assess workforce challenges and opportunities, and to produce content highlighting individuals as they pursue a variety of pathways leading to high-demand jobs and livable wages. #WVWorkz

Partners

West Virginia Department of Education Career Technical Education
WorkForce West Virginia
Affiliated and Construction Trades Foundation
West Virginia Community and Technical College System

Resources

Previous Work

American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen, an initiative to help communities implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis.

Senate Passes Bill That Would Make Community College Programs Free

The West Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make community and technical colleges free. Senate Bill 284 passed unanimously on a 34-0 vote and now heads to the House of Delegates.

The bill creates two programs — the Advanced Career Education, or ACE, program and the WV Invests Grant. The ACE program aims to prepare secondary education students for career-oriented training by connecting county boards of education with community and technical colleges. The WV Invests Grant allows students to enter CTC programs free of charge after other scholarships and grants have been exhausted.

Students who have a high school diploma or a equivalent certificate, regardless of age, would be eligible to apply for the grant.

Senate Bill 284 was amended in the Senate Education Committee to lower an age eligibility requirement from 20 to 18 and include those younger with a diploma or other certification.

“The education committee moving the age down to 18 was a major change, you know because it takes the children who we were going to lose between 18 and 20 and gives them a pathway to success,” said Sen. Mike Romano, who introduced the amendment. “I remember President Bush’s No Child Left Behind. By changing this age and what this has done — we truly will leave no child behind in West Virginia — because every one of them will get the opportunity to have a good career and make a good life for their families.”

Applicants must meet academic, residency and other eligibility requirements, including successfully passing a drug test prior to each semester of enrollment. Students would be responsible for the cost of the drug test.

Senators praised the bill on the floor, with Senate Education Chair Kenny Mann calling the occasion a “moon landing.”

“I know technically today we’re not physically landing on the moon. But, you know — for education in West Virginia — maybe we are. And as I said in our education committee, I want you to remember this day and remember that we voted this through and changed education in West Virginia for the better,” Mann said.

The upper chamber said the bill provides opportunities to those who may not be interested in a four-year degree. Senators also noted how the bill aims to fill future workforce needs for the state.

“I’ve dreamed about this since I was a farmer riding a tractor — 21 years old in Berkeley County — growing apples and peaches. Because, when I was in school in 1976 and 77, they really wanted to push you to college education. ‘You got to go to a four-year, four-year, four-year,’” said Finance Chair Craig Blair.

“I didn’t fit for me and it doesn’t fit for a lot of us. But we can still be very, very, very productive. And I’ve got to add one last thing to this. When you put people into the workforce, it takes them off the entitlement rolls. That in itself pays dividends and also attracts business,” Blair added.

A fiscal note from the West Virginia Community & Technical College System says the WV Invests Grant would cost $8 million. A fiscal note from the West Virginia Department of Education says the ACE program will not cost the agency any additional dollars.

Tuition Increases Rejected for Three Community Colleges

The board that oversees West Virginia’s community and technical colleges has rejected tuition increases for three schools.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Council for Community and Technical Colleges approved two of five requests to increase tuition more than 5 percent on Friday.

The council rejected tuition increases for BridgeValley Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College and West Virginia University at Parkersburg. Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College asked for a 12 percent increase, but the council approved a 9 percent hike. The council approved a 7 percent increase for New River Community Technical College.

The decision means some schools will have to reconsider their budgets two weeks into the new fiscal year. Four colleges increased tuition less than 5 percent, which does not require council approval.