Community Career Education Center proposed for Bloomington

As today’s economy moves away from a manufacturing base, many communities have been faced with losing jobs to locations outside the U.S. where labor is less expensive. Bloomington is no exception.

In recent years, workers at both Thomson Electronics and General Electric have found themselves unemployed or fearing layoffs. Most of them are without skills that readily transfer to the new technology-based companies.

IU has partnered with the City of Bloomington and local organizations, such as the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Workforce Development, to propose the development of the Community Career Education Center. The facility would provide dislocated workers with new career skills consistent with emerging employment opportunities in the region and address the need of existing local businesses to upgrade the professional skills of employees in order to remain competitive. It also would collaborate with economic development agencies to provide training for employees of new companies the agencies hope to attract to Bloomington.

Federal monies would equip the facility, to be housed in the now-empty Thomson plant, with two multimedia classrooms, a networked computer lab with 20 workstations and a small office. They would also provide for the development of noncredit courses and certificate programs that draw upon IU’s programs in business, computer technology and related fields. Credit certificate programs that can be applied toward completion of associate and bachelor’s degree requirements in general studies would also be created for adults in high demand areas.

Other areas of the proposal to be supported by the federal grant would include: offering additional undergraduate courses in career areas at community locations; providing outreach services to attract, enroll and maximize the chances for success of enrolled adults; and developing a Web site that would connect individuals to local employment opportunities and supplement classroom-based training activities.

Based upon tuition and contract income with businesses, it is anticipated that the Community Career Education Center would become fiscally self-reliant after the first year.