The University Of Akron Wayne College Awarded $1.0 Million Grant For Jobs Training

The University of Akron Wayne College Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development will receive a $1 million grant to provide information technology network security training to displaced workers and unemployed students over the next four years. The grant is part of a $5 million Department of Labor grant that Wayne College will be sharing with three other Ohio colleges: Stark State College, Columbus State Community College and Washington County Community College.

According to Paulette Popovich, interim dean of Wayne College, the grant was awarded to schools that offer training in high demand career areas, such as network security.

Amy Mast, the college’s director of continuing education and workforce development, points out the glaring need for workers in this growing field.

“Due to the threat of cyber attacks and security breaches, the field of network security is expected to grow rapidly in the next several years, with a projected growth rate of 20% over a ten-year period,” Mast said. “Many small to medium size companies in Wayne College’s service area have trouble filling these critical positions.”

The grant will pay for qualified students to attend Wayne College’s Network Security Professional program free of charge, and will also cover the cost of certification testing. The program is a 55-hour blended learning program with 40 hours of classroom time and 15 hours of online instruction. Mast says the coursework is quite challenging and can be applied as credit towards an Associate of Computer Business Technology degree at Wayne College.

The funding is part of a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services for job training and employment initiatives designed to help get more Ohioans back to work. One of the grants – for nearly $3 million – will target adults and youth with disabilities. The other two grants – totaling more than $9 million – will help unemployed Ohioans learn the skills they need to find jobs in specialized information technology (IT) and health care fields.

Up to 12 students with significant prior computer knowledge will be accepted into the Wayne College program each semester over the next four years. Additional information regarding the application process will be posted on the college’s website as it becomes available: www.wayne.uakron.edu/ce/.