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Training Georgia's IT Workforce
With the exponential increase in demand for qualified workers in the field of information technology, the Department of Technical and Adult Education’s TechForce Georgia program is more important than ever. As the IT field continues to expand, training students across the state for ever-multiplying IT jobs is key for sustained economic growth and better job opportunities.
But how can we be sure students receive the quality training they need to be successful in the high-tech arena? It’s all part of the integrated approach that DTAE is taking with its IT programs. Through a special agreement with Microsoft, a facility for training faculty members from technical colleges around Georgia—the Professional Development Center—was opened in January 2000 as the first National Pilot Microsoft Academic Professional Development Center. The center has since established official training partnerships with Sun, Comptia and CIW.
Under the leadership of DTAE Assistant Commissioner of Planning, Development and Technology Debbie Dlugolenski, who also heads the Georgia Virtual Technical College, the Professional Development Center in Covington is thriving. Larry Bond, the newly appointed director, and instructors Mike Hall, Mike Trammel and Neil Rigole staff the center. The instructors, who are jointly certified in six areas of IT, are responsible for training DTAE’s professional IT instructors, who in turn train the students business and industry so urgently need to keep the IT world up and running. The DTAE teaching staff is required to be industry certified. To date, over 250 faculty members have been trained, with a first-time exam pass rate of 98 percent. The center offers multiple blocks of the same certificate training, allowing instructors to go through various programs at different rates. For example, there could be a group of instructors who have completed four of the seven Windows 2000 MCSE courses while another group is just beginning the first course.
While school is in session at statewide technical colleges, about two or three classes are offered at the Professional Development Center per month. It’s during quarter breaks that many instructors make the trip to Covington for training in areas such as Cisco, Microsoft, A+, Java and Internet Fundamentals. The instructor-level classes are taught in state-of-the-art labs similar to those at the colleges, so instructors get a true feel for what their own students go through. Most courses are five days long, providing a real opportunity to focus on learning and reinforce the programs.
The lab setting also allows for hands-on learning and experimentation. “If someone has a question or a problem that we’re not sure how to solve, we can play around to find a solution,” says Hall. “Being in a lab means we’re not going to shut down important systems that people need to do their jobs.” Some instructors also take the opportunity to “play” after classes are over, staying in the labs for hours to try new techniques or processes.
The Professional Development Center staff members are well-trained. Program manufacturers like Cisco Systems provide some course training. For other courses, staff members receive training at commercial schools. These “master instructors” must be on top of their game in order to prepare college instructors to teach students who are headed into the fast-paced IT business world. “We don’t just
teach the instructors the
program information. We also spend time teaching them how to deliver the content,” says Hall.
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By training and certifying faculty in-house, DTAE uses the Professional Development Center to ensure consistency in IT programs throughout Georgia’s technical colleges. Thus, students graduating from computer information system programs through DTAE all get the same high quality instruction, no matter where they attend classes. In turn, businesses know that students from these programs are highly qualified and will be knowledgeable employees. According to Bond, “Our continued success is contingent upon our ability to develop and establish relationships with vendors and manufacturers of IT products. These relationships are necessary for us to maintain meaningful course content and to stay current with changes in technology.”
The consistent training provided at the Professional Development Center guarantees that technical college IT instructors across Georgia receive the cutting-edge training they need to help students succeed in the IT job market. As more businesses need IT workers and more students enroll in IT programs, the courses offered at the Professional Development Center will continue to help DTAE stay on track training Georgia’s IT workforce. 
