IWV Campus
Cerro Coso Community College held the 3rd Annual Employer Summit on
Friday, February 26, 2010 at the Indian Wells Valley campus. Employers from
aerospace/military, mining/manufacturing and renewable energy were in
attendance with faculty, staff and students. Over a hundred attended the
event.
College
staffers provided a college update and presentations in the areas of
curriculum, engineering, industrial technology, National Science Foundation
California Regional Consortium for Engineering Advances in Technological
Education (CREATE) Center, K12 Update, EKERN, job placement/internships, and
customized training (contract education). In addition to presentations,
there was a brainstorming session of needs and questions from employers.
"Employer input is critical in developing curriculum to the region's current
and future workforces. The purpose of this year's Employer Summit was to
demonstrate Cerro Coso Community College's commitment to employer training
needs and to provide updates on programs and services "said Valerie Karnes,
Dean of Career and Technical Education at Cerro Coso Community College.
The keynote address was provided by Mr. Robert E. McGahern. He is employed
by the Department of Defense working for the Office of the Director,
Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) as the Director of the National
Defense Education Program (NDEP) K-12 Pre-Engineering Program (PEP). McGahern
addressed the existing and emerging needs in aerospace and the skill sets
students need to be competitive in the job market. In addition, he outlined
programs that are available to students in support of entering these
careers.
This event was sponsored by employers and would not have been possible
without their generous support. The Gold Level sponsors included Jacobs
Naval Systems Group and Kern Community College District. The Silver level
sponsors included Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), Center for
Applied Competitive Technologies, Pacific Gas & Electric,
California Regional Consortium
for Engineering Advances in Technological Education (CREATE) and
Mojave Spaceport. Bronze Level
sponsors included CSC, Cosner-Neipp
Corporation, Searles Valley Minerals,
NDTI and
Paul & Sons Automotive. "The College
is very thankful for the support, we couldn't have done it without them,"
continued Karnes.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Natalie Dorrell, Public Information (760) 384-6260