Three Rivers builds a niche as the region's skills-provider
for medical and other needs
By Bethe Dufresne
Norwich -- Metaphors fly all over as four women at Three
Rivers Community College discuss what running a Continuing Education
department requires today. “We can turn on a dime,” says one, conjuring
up the image of a quick, sturdy, sure-footed quarterhorse re-directing a
panicky steer.
“Incubation” conjures a lab experiment; “triage,” a hospital or
ambulance. Finally comes a phrase that strikes everyone as just right.
“We're the first responders,” says Peg Stroup, director of business and
industry services.
“I see a T-shirt,” intones Program Coordinator Jessie McCoy, and
everyone laughs.
Medical metaphors come naturally at Three Rivers, where many of the
region's nurses and certified nurse's aides find their educational path.
When it comes to job prospects, this is one area where there's clearly
no end in sight.
Three Rivers does a brisk business in personal enrichment, with course
and workshop topics ranging from nutrition and stress management to
digital photography and Electro Magnetic Field balancing techniques.
But Marjorie Valentin, associate dean of continuing education, says
work-force development is by far the busiest front these days.
John Beauregard, executive director of the Eastern Connecticut Workforce
Investment Board, says close coordination between business and the
region's colleges and universities is crucial to developing and
maintaining a work force suited to the kind of high-tech industry the
region wants to attract.
A work-force development and housing subcommittee he co-chaired is
working with the state to establish a Southeastern Connecticut Higher
Education Consortium expressly for that purpose.
Among its tasks are to develop more educational programs targeted toward
the needs of particular businesses and industries, re-train workers in
line with regional economic goals, and help companies met their
technology needs.
Photo By Dana Jensen Student Susan Rousseau of Ledyard, left, takes a turn
practicing the technique for assisting a patient, a role performed by
fellow student Megghan Jackson of Norwich, during a certified nursing
assistant class at Three Rivers Community College
Ken Buttinger is human resources manager at PCC Structurals Inc. in
Groton, which casts steel alloy into jet engine parts. When the company
needed to upgrade software skills a few years ago, Three Rivers
conducted classes onsite.
“They've been great to work with,” he says.
More recently, says Buttinger, Three Rivers was the conduit for a grant
to fund an X-ray and dye penetrant training program, sponsored by the
Eastern Connecticut Workforce Board and held at Hellier Associates, Inc.
in East Lyme.
If not for Three Rivers, says Buttinger, “we would not have been aware
of that funding source.”
PCC has a tuition-reimbursement program that, like many, requires
employees to pay for college courses up front, then be reimbursed upon
completion. Three Rivers is an affordable, popular choice, says
Buttinger.
Norman Birk, owner of Birk Manufacturing in East Lyme, worked with Three
Rivers to make a training video and to provide on- site English lessons
for some employees. Birk makes heating elements and thermal systems for
equipment and instrumentation.
“We have full reimbursement for any course that could even vaguely
apply,” says Birk. “We're big on education here.”
Both the training video — shown to all new employees — and the English
lessons were “a good investment,” he says.
Technical skills are the first things most employers look for, says
Valentin, but “soft skills,” like how to deal with the public, aren't
passé, especially since we've gone from a manufacturing to a service
economy.
“Employers want both,” she says.
Ana Gonzales, a continuing education assistant, came to Three Rivers in
1992. Back then, she says, EB and Pfizer dominated the business sphere,
and computers were so cumbersome “we had to cart them around in a
minivan.”
The region now has two more business behemoths in the two casinos. But
there are also more “smaller, more entrepreneurial” ventures, Gonzales
says.
Stroup works with businesses by directing them to courses already
offered on the college's two campuses, soon to be consolidated at the
New London Turnpike location, or contracting to provide courses on site.
Diversity training is a hot topic, she says, with so many immigrants
filling jobs. Employers must communicate their expectations to workers
from many different cultures, says Stroup, and those workers must be
able to relate well to customers.
Another side of all this is a demand for diversity training at
non-profit agencies such as Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA),
where immigrants may go for help with a range of social services.
Technology changes day by day, and both employers and employees are
struggling to stay current. Sometimes employers call because they need
something, “but they don't even know what it is,” says Stroup.
Technology isn't all that's changing fast, says Valentin. Workers switch
jobs. Companies come and go.
Most students come to Three Rivers “wanting something specific,” says
Valentin, not just to sample courses and see what moves them. “They want
to train for careers, or upgrade, stay current or make their way up the
ladder.
“They may need a new job, or want to hang onto the old one when the
company is downsizing, and the new guys have all the computer skills.”
Others may have been injured on the job, and have vouchers from the
state to pay for re-training.
As costs soar at four-year colleges and universities, Three Rivers is
also seeing more “traditional 18-year-old college students” than ever
before, says Valentin. Most are self-supporting, juggling college, jobs
and — often — children.
Partly as a result of this, online course offerings are increasing, says
Gonzales.
Often, says Valentin, “people come here thinking they can't go to
college, then do well in noncredit courses and say, 'I can do this.' ”
The next step may be a one-year certificate, an associate's degree, or
transfer to a four-year school.
Three Rivers works with four-year colleges and universities, in
particular Mitchell College in New London, Central and Eastern
Connecticut State Universities and the University of Connecticut, to
transfer credits.
Erik Royce, a 19-year-old from Mystic, is studying photonics and laser
optics here. Aside from being affordable, “It's the best laser program I
could find,” he says.
Royce said he also likes the fact that teachers routinely help connect
students with job fairs and companies that need their skills.
Classmate John Wadsworth of Waterford has a scholarship to study
electrical engineering from Dominion, owner of the Millstone Power
Station in Waterford, emphasizing the close relationship between the
college and local industry.
About 85 percent of Three Rivers students live in New London County,
another incentive for employers to invest in their training.
The spotlight fell on this region when it faced the possibility of the
sub base closing, says Beauregard at the Workforce Investment Board, and
for diversification to succeed, employers need access to a workforce
trained and educated to meet their needs.
“We should have pathways developed for all our students,” Beauregard
says. “We're taking the matter very seriously.”
Norwich - Published on 3/4/2007 in The Day: Home
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