2024 Noncredit Exemplary Award Winner

NONCREDIT WORKFORCE PROGRAM
Metropolitan Community College, NE
Heartland WorkReady Community Initiative

Metropolitan Community College is a staple in the Omaha, Nebraska community meeting the needs for various levels of learners and providing programming of vast interest. In March 2017, the Greater Omaha Community launched the Heartland WorkReady Community Initiative co-lead by Metropolitan Community College’s (MCC) Workforce Innovation Division and Heartland Workforce Solutions (HWS).

The initiative created an ecosystem that seamlessly connected Education, the Workforce System, Greater Omaha Chamber and local businesses. As a result, education to employment pathways for individuals who experienced high barriers to successful, sustainable employment were created throughout the community, targeting jobs that demonstrate High Wage, High Demand, High Skill (H3) jobs (http://h3.ne.gov/). MCC’s Workforce Innovation Division’s Career Skill Advancement and Adult Education Program is just one of many programs at the college that embraces the need of serving adult learners and helping connect them to career pathways in various capacities. Currently, the Workforce Innovation Division (WID) has created 15 noncredit, short-term training programs which offer 28 different certifications. Of these 15 noncredit short-term training programs, nine have been created as Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs that incorporate both Adult Basic Skills Education and Workforce and Technical Education. These three components are delivered contextually and concurrently. MCC’s WID Program takes education and workforce preparation one step further by integrating employment in these short-term training programs with the assistance of our 287 business partners, providing immediate access for individuals seeking to enter a particular workforce industry or upskill in their current field. All 15 training programs have an embedded Career Coach who focuses on career readiness and preparation to enter the workforce and aids in introducing participants to industry partners for potential hire. Furthermore, the IET programs have recently incorporated collaborations with MCC’s programs of study for technical education and utilize the I-Best teaching model, pioneered by Washington State’s community and technical colleges. Current student outcomes include gainful employment, enrollment into college credit courses and upskilling and promotions within their current workforce field.

These programs would not have demonstrated success without our private and nonprofit business partners. Omaha’s Workforce Board plays an integral role in promoting and recruiting not only individuals, but also businesses to participate in programming at MCC – enabling us to being with the end in mind.

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