Moving students into jobs
Written by: | 13 Jan 2009
Growth involves change, and Yavapai College has evidenced its desire to grow and change by adding some new programs to its curriculum.
Such programs recently added to the Yavapai College offerings include Pharmacy Technician, Mining, and Social Services.
The level of need
Prior to beginning a new program, the college researches the level of need for it. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the need for Pharmacy Technicians is expected to increase by thirty-two percent from 2006 to 2016.
In 2006, Yavapai College received a grant from the Department of Labor and the Pharmacy Tech program was proposed at that time.
Pharmacy Tech
Pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists in preparing and providing medication and health products to consumers and patients. The compensation for this area averages fifteen dollars per hour. Our new Pharmacy Technician program is a certificate program run by Nancy Bowers and consists of 33 and 36 credit hours. It takes approximately five semesters to complete and has eleven required courses.
If this type of work does not inspire you, consider YC’s new Mining program, headed up by John Morgan, Career and Technical Education Dean of Yavapai College.
Mining
According to Morgan, Freeport McMoran, Incorporated approached Yavapai College and indicated there was a huge labor shortfall in mining, and there was a need for more than one thousand people per year in Arizona alone. Freeport put up the money to get the program off the ground and “the college provided building space, supervision, and the faculty to run it,” Morgan said.
The two-year program requires that the student be hired by the mine to be in the program; one must pass security clearance, the compass test as well as interviews. The three degree areas available are Industrial Plant Technician, Diesel Technician, and Electrical and Instrumentation Technician.
Social Services
Last but hardly least; pending final approval, a brand new two-year Social Services associate program will become available for Yavapai students. Psychology instructor Al Garbagnati is heading up this program.
According to Garbagnati, the program was actually suggested ten years ago, but there was not enough interest expressed to pursue it at that time. About a year ago, a faculty member of the Verde campus asked again if the program could be reconsidered.
A community needs survey was sent to local businesses that use social service workers, followed by a student needs survey which was distributed in fall of 2007. The response was affirmative that the program would be well received and used by both students and local facilities.
“The next step in the process was the evaluation of other programs like it to see what fit and what could be transferrable,” Garbagnati said.
“Pima at Tucson and Northern New Mexico were primary resources in molding our program.”
He then prepared his proposal for the program in written format. Barbara Wing, Prescott Campus Dean “reviewed it, and tweaked it slightly” as Garbagnati puts it. In November it went to the Curriculum Committee, which meets monthly; final approval is expected effective January 2009, however the program would not officially be offered until the fall 2009 semester.
This degree would provide a student with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Social and Human Services, or there is an abbreviated certificate program available which consists of 21 credits. The Associate’s degree consists of six core courses, 150 hours and a summer internship. Three new courses that would be required for the degree are Group Skills and Processes, Trauma and Crisis Intervention, and Case Management. The best part however, may be that there is no College Algebra required.
Very interesting article. I’m very glad that they are expanding and not cutting programs. I was surprised to see that mining was one of the jobs in need.
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