With 40 years gone, Job Corps eyes future

Program looks to expand, fill nation's workforce shortages

MOSES LAKE — When Michele Stanhope started working as a pharmacy technician instructor at Columbia Basin Job Corps, there was only one site in town where she could send students for training.

Four years later, Job Corps is celebrating its 40th anniversary and three pharmacies in Moses Lake have partnerships with CBJC.

That may not seem like a significant increase, but from Stanhope's perspective it is one step forward in gaining the support of area businesses and changing negative perceptions about Job Corps.

"I would say 90 percent of these kids are here to get a leg up on education," Stanhope said.

One student of Stanhope's went on to the University of Washington. Seven others have gone on to get permanent work placements here in Moses Lake, with many more aspiring to go on to pre-med school.

But Stanhope knows there is more to making Job Corps programs like hers successful than simply partnering with businesses.

They should be offering resources for employees to go back to school with the option of coming back to work later, Stanhope said of businesses when they permanently hire an employee. "I think there is going to be a drastic need for us to partner more," she said.

The latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor show that in the growth period from 2002-2012, the two occupations projected to see the highest increase than any other industry are education and health care services. Employment growth in these areas will be driven by rising student enrollments at all levels of education and an increase in the aging population and longer life expectancies.

Partnerships with Big Bend Community College, Habitat for Humanity and Skillsource to look at sharing resources and space are being discussed .

Meetings with BBCC earlier this year on the "Partnership Project: Shared Visions for the Future" took CBJC and the college one step closer to creating a larger partnership between the two entities. For several years, CBJC and Big Bend have had an ongoing relationship, in which Job Corps students have taken classes, GED tests and participated in work-based learning at the college.

In recent months, however, both parties have agreed that applying jointly for grant money, forming intramural sports teams, performing arts groups and student government activities might be the next step in strengthening the relationship.

"We have different strengths and we bring those strengths and resources to the table in combining our resources (so they can be more effectively used)," said Kara Garret, dean of education, health and language skills at BBCC.

Job Corps is able to recruit more students to the area and the college can offer transfer options and programs with state and national accreditation, Garrett added.

In addition to health care, homeland security and national defense are two other employment fields with a high demand for workers.

Under an initiative formed through the National Job Corps Association called "Job Corps: For the Nation and the Next Generation," CBJC and other Job Corps centers are looking to meet that demand and expand their vocational programs.

The decade-long plan is funded from a combination of federal dollars and private and public sector partners to expand job corps capacity in training employees in industries with workforce shortages.

According to the NJCA the initiative would train 60,000 new graduates in health occupations, 50,000 in homeland security and 50,000 more military enlistees and civilian support staff.

At the local level CBJC is expanding and remodeling its facilities.

A 136-room, two story dormitory is scheduled to start construction in July of 2006, with completion the following year. The new dorm will replace two older dormitories on the CBJC campus that are more than 50 years old and will eventually be demolished.

The new dormitory will provide more privacy for students, with two and four students per room and a private bathroom in each, said John Breinig, administrative officer at CBJC.

A remodel of the CBJC auditorium is also underway, with updated technology and infrastructure improvements being done by Job Corps students. The project is expected to be completed within the next 30 to 60 days.

Both projects receive funding from the Department of Labor.

With the celebration of Job Corps' 40th anniversary being held Friday at CBJC, center director Peggy Hendren envisions the future of Job Corps as a place that will help students achieve their academic goals regardless of income level or background.

"It gives them a more realistic opportunity that is achievable," Hendren said.