Houston City College students can soon participate in virtual, employer-sponsored programs to advance their career goals, officials announced in a Sept. 1 news release.
In a nutshell
HCC was one of 15 community colleges selected to participate in the Workforce Futures Accelerator Project, a three-year initiative led by the Association of Community College Trustees with support from Google, per the news release.
There is a demand for faster, more workforce-aligned degree programs, but with that acceleration, students can miss out on valuable experience or connections to potential employers, according to the news release. This program aims to solve that issue.
“Participation by HCC will strengthen how we provide students with career-connected learning experiences that complement their classroom education and align with the needs of employers,” Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher said in the news release.
The initiative will focus on high-demand workforce fields such as technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and business operations, per the association’s news release.
The framework
The initiative will train faculty to incorporate the program into their classrooms, according to the association’s website. Riipen, an online work-based learning platform, will provide its services and employer support, and HCC will integrate them into two workforce programs, according to the news release.
The association will also help colleges ensure these practices stick and share strategies for creating similar programs. It will also guide colleges in seeking other forms of funding, like Workforce Pell and Perkins grants, per the association’s news release.
“This is about ensuring students graduate with hands-on and real-world work experience that matters in an AI-driven economy,” said Mara Woody, director of strategic partnerships at Riipen.
