Miller Brewing Co.’s Tools for Success scholarship program, which has become an important and valuable workforce tradition, will make its 2002 awards at Albany Technical College on Oct. 31st.This is the fifth annual awards ceremony. The philosophy behind the scholarship program is to develop the area’s workforce, according to Paul DeLoach, regional state affairs manager at Miller.“ By providing the tools of the trades, vocational graduates can bypass low-level ‘helper’ positions and perform the higher-level jobs that employers are desperate to fill,” he says.“ This moves them into hard-to-fill jobs more quickly and opens up entry-level positions.” Upon graduation, the winners receive tools valued from $1,500-$2,500.

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) has recently granted accreditation status to Appalachian Technical College’s Metal and Plastics Apprenticeship Program. Appalachian Technical College is one of only eighty schools nationwide and the first school in Georgia to receive this prestigious honor. NIMS establishes national industry skill standards in metalworking, and students at Appalachian Tech will be able to take performance examinations following their training to qualify for NIMS credentials. Employees who receive NIMS credentialing are highly desired by manufacturers in the metalworking industry.

The Athens Technical College Automotive Technology program is now certified by the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF) and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).

In order to receive this recognition, the training program underwent rigorous evaluation by NATEF. Nationally accepted standards of excellence in such areas as instruction, facilities and equipment were used. Upon completion of the evaluation, NATEF recommended that Athens Technical College be certified by ASE, a national, non-profit organization which tests and certifies repair technicians in addition to certifying technician training programs.

The Early Childhood Care and Education Program at Flint River Technical College has been among the College’s program offerings for just 11 years. However, during that period of time, the Early Childhood Care and Education Department has generated $2,074,200 in funding for the College’s Early Childhood programs and has helped to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for other child-related programs and organizations in the surrounding communities. In the process, over 50 jobs have been created, several businesses have been spawned, and state pre-K programs have begun.

Gwinnett Technical College’s horticulture program has added a state-of-the- art classroom facility on the Lawrenceville campus. The 300-plus students that participate in the horticulture program each year will gain additional classrooms, new greenhouse space and top-quality laboratory space in the new building. The building is designed to be environmentally friendly. Water conservation methods and daylight lighting are just are few of the features that adhere to an environmentally conscious design. The new laboratories feature the latest equipment for the environmental horticulture industry. The soil lab and botany lab will enable students to experience a wide variety of laboratory activities, such as micropropagation and soil analyses.

North Georgia Technical College has opened a Hispanic Resource Center on the Clarkesville Campus. This center, located in the campus library, has a collection of Spanish language materials including books, magazines and newspapers, and information on North Georgia Tech’s technical programs and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. There are also two dedicated computer workstations with access to the Internet, a printer and a scanner available for use by the Spanish-speaking community. This resource center is free to the general public.

North Georgia Technical College serves as host and fiscal agent to the Northeast Georgia Corner Connection School-to-Work Consortium, which recently received several Georgia School-To-Work grants, including a grant to study the viability of aquaculture in Northeast Georgia. This project will research ways that aquaculture can increase economic development opportunities in the seven counties served by NGTC.

The North Metro Technical College Horticulture Program is adding two new Horticulture specializations due to the growing need for employees in these areas. The two new certificate programs are Landscape Management and Golf Course Management.

The Horticulture Program will also be the first program of its type to require a workplace Spanish course as part of the curriculum. There are currently over 100 students enrolled in North Metro Tech’s Horticulture Program. Graduates are placed in many local companies, including Pike Nurseries, White Oak Landscape, Home Depot, John Deere Landscapes, Chatham Landscape, Post Properties, and High Grove Partners. The placement rate for the program is 100 percent.

South Georgia Technical College has received a $50,000 donation from the Caterpillar Excellence Fund in support of its Diesel Equipment Technology Program. This money will be used to strengthen students, faculty, and curriculum in heavy equipment and diesel engine training by supporting acquisition of equipment components for instructional purposes, aiding faculty in attending courses and seminars to broaden expertise in new technical areas, upgrading or developing courses and materials to support new curriculum needs and strengthening student development through recruitment and scholarships.

Southeastern Technical College has received $94,600 from the U. S. Department of Agriculture to purchase two truck transmission simulators used to train prospective truck drivers. The simulators provide a safe way to train independent truck drivers. Last year the Southeastern Technical College Foundation raised over $200,000 to go towards the Commercial Truck Driving Program and received a $115,000 match from the State of Georgia. Funds are now being provided through the USDA-Rural Development’s Rural Business Enterprise Grant (R.B.E.G.) Program. A major focus of these grants is to create or maintain jobs in economically challenged areas.