SEEDlogojpgAACC
SEED News
In This Issue
Find us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our profile on LinkedIn
Quick Links to www.theSEEDcenter.org

Educator Training
Summer 2011 Applications Open:   

 

Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC) SEET Workshop 

 

Train the Trainer Academies: Biofuels and Photovoltaics

 

 

Visit SEED News & Events for the latest information.   


   

SBA
Small Business Administration
Green Business Opportunities
A Small Business Guide


WAPTAC
Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center
Weatherization Curricula, Competencies,
And Training Tools


Visit the SEED Resource Center for comprehensive green jobs curricula development resources in Solar, Wind, Green Building, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability Education

Share Your Resources

SEED Curricula Wiki offers resource sharing exclusively between colleges

Share and explore green program and course development materials:

  • Learning outcomes
  • Classroom and lab activities
  • Syllabi
  • Laboratory & training manuals
  • Equipment lists
  • Lesson plans
  • Textbooks

 

SEED on the Road to NAWB 

 

SEED came to Washington, DC this week for the National Association of Workforce Boards annual conference, Forum 2011.

Todd Cohen, Sustainability Initiatives Director from AACC moderated the panel, "Green Up: Community College and WIB Partnerships".  He was joined by panelists Daniel P. McDermott, executive director of the Upper Shore Workforce Investment Board, and Dr. Barbara Viniar, president of Chesapeake College, both of Wye Mills, Maryland.

 

They discussed the emerging green industry-where job growth potential is significant but great uncertainty surrounds market conditions.  Strong community college and WIB partnerships are essential to efficiently meeting the needs of students, workers, and employers.  As American Recovery and Reinvestment

Act (ARRA) funding recedes, Cohen, McDermott, and Viniar explored how colleges and WIBs are collaboratively forging ahead to support and train workers for careers in the green economy.

 

Find a copy of their presentation here. (pdf)

 

February 10, 2011


SEED Showcased at AACC's

Workforce Development Institute

SEED, Sustainability Education & Economic Development, was prominently featured at last month's American Association of Community College's Workforce Development Institute (WDI) conference in Newport Beach, California. 

 

WDI is the premiere workforce development event for community colleges. Nearly 70 educators attended the inaugural SEED workshop, a hands-on peer-to-peer session entitled, "Building a Green Workforce: Charting a Green Course for Community Colleges." Participants learned about innovative partnerships with clean energy businesses, engaging displaced workers, stackable certificates, and program funding opportunities.  They left with concrete action plans to help ramp up job training programs for green-collar jobs and tying workforce efforts to broader campus sustainability initiatives.

 

SEED was also showcased at a reception for all attendees.  The program continues to receive accolades from community college educators as it helps them fill critical new economy and green jobs curricular and workforce development needs. 

 WDI Precon

Pictured, workshop presenters:

 

Back Row:

Roger Ebbage, Lane Community College;  

Todd Cohen, American Association of Community Colleges;   

Mike Midgely and Hector Aguilar, Austin Community College

 

Front Row:

Marcy Drummond and Leticia Barajas,  

Los Angeles Trade Tech Community College


Department of Labor $500M Grant for Community Colleges Announced; Up to $2B Will be Awarded Over the Next 4 Years

On January 20, the Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $500 million in grant funds to be awarded under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grants program (TAACCCT).  

 

These funds are available to eligible institutions of higher education to serve workers who are eligible for training under the TAA for workers program in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The TAACCCT provides community colleges and other eligible institutions of higher education with funds to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in two years or less, are suited for workers who are eligible for training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, and prepare program participants for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations. The Department intends to fund grants ranging from $2.5 million to $5 million for individual applicants and from $2.5 million to $20 million for consortium applicants.

 

Department of Labor Press Release 

Full Grant Solicitation (pdf) 

Colleges in Action: New Success Stories  

SEED features community colleges that have emerged as real innovators in the field.  Following are two new success stories from SEED member colleges Gateway Tech and Technical College of the Low Country.  Check out colleges in action to see what others are doing, too.  

 

Gateway Technical College Advances Sustainability in the Region, the Nation, and Its Own Backyard

 Gateway Tech Logo

The Kenosha region of Wisconsin is recognized as one of the nation's top high-tech economies, thanks in large part to its strong network of area colleges and universities with a history of performing advanced research and world-class training. Gateway Technical College (GTC) is at the center of this network and, during the recent economic downturn, was well prepared to adapt its programs to the changing, and increasingly energy-focused regional economy. The college's efforts led to new sustainability initiatives on-campus and on the national stage.

 

From advanced propulsion systems using biofuels and hybrid/diesel technology to torque technology development for wind industry technicians, GTC is immersed in sustainable energy systems programs. By marrying diesel technology with advanced training in emerging energy sectors, GTC's newly expanded Horizon Center for Transportation Technology is preparing students for a broad array of jobs, through clear diesel career pathways including maintenance and repair of tractor-trailers, earth-moving equipment, marine engines, and aviation. "This facility will provide training for qualified technicians in many areas of the transportation industry," said Gateway President Brian Albrecht.  Read more. 


  

Technical College of the Lowcountry

Drives Renewable Energy Development

Tech College Low Country Solar 

South Carolina's Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) serves a large and very diverse community alongside the Intracoastal Waterway, an energy-poor region with high electricity demand. The region's power plants typically buy coal or natural gas from beyond state borders, but recently area industries have set their sights on using more sustainable energy resources. TCL partnered with key employers from the building industry to leverage a $100,000 Wal-Mart grant to redesign the college's Building Technology Program to include tidal, geo-thermal, solar, and wind power generation. 

 

Key to TCL's training effort is incorporating hands-on active demonstration models of each energy source on its own campus. "The students really want to get out and work and see, 'Can I do this?'" said Everett Feight, TLC's division dean for industrial technologies. "It validates everything they are learning in class." Read more.  

 

 

Does your college have a program to share here?  Send your success story and photos to [email protected].  Programs should be tied to a credit or training program focused on workforce development or green jobs and show innovative practices greening the campus, community or partnerships with employers. 

What do you think?

Send comments, suggestions, sustainability success stories, newsletter ideas, and learn more about corporate partnerships: [email protected]

The SEED Center is brought to you by the American Association of Community Colleges and ecoAmerica and is supported by the Flora Family, Kresge, and Surdna Foundations and corporate partner Pearson Higher Education.