WGTC News Releases & Events
The following articles have been recently released by West Georgia Technical College:
- WCTC Foundation Announces Redken Gift
- Winter Enrollment Up 20 Percent
- Butler Gives Commencement Address
- Work Ready Region Sponsors WGTC Leadership Academy
WCTC Foundation Announces Redken Gift
Posted: February 1, 2010
Contact Ben Chambers, 770.537.5756
The West Central Technical College Foundation today announced a $25,000 donation by Redken, a global hair care products leader headquartered in New York.
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Redken representative Steve Broader (center) presents a ceremonial check to WGTC Vice President of Institutional Advancement Dawn Cook in the College’s Carroll Campus salon. The two are flanked by students and instructors from the College. College students provide cosmetology services at reduced rates at each of West Georgia Tech’s campuses. |
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The gift is part of the WCTC Foundation’s major gifts campaign, “Invest in the Next Generation.”
“We are tremendously thankful for the support of Redken,” College President Dr. Skip Sullivan said. “We have a longstanding relationship with the company through the use of its products in our cosmetology program and in the College’s retail salons at each campus. This gift solidifies that friendship and partnership.”
Redken has also recognized West Georgia Technical College as a Redken Premier School. West Georgia Tech joins North Georgia Tech
as the only two Premier Schools in Georgia.
“We are particularly honored to be given the title ‘Redken Premier School’ as it gives our instructors and students access to more cutting-edge training directly from Redken experts – the best in the business,” cosmetology program chair Gail Conaway said.
The Premier School program puts Redken specialists in contact with instructors in “train the trainer” events that prepare instructors to teach the most advanced hair care and styling techniques in the industry.
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| West Georgia Technical College cosmetology instructors, clockwise from bottom, Denise Boykin, Dale Patterson, Vanessa Clark, Gail Conaway and DeeDee Patterson share information during a training session with a Redken colorist. |
Conaway said she and four other WGTC instructors have already begun training with a Redken colorist.
Redken representative John Miller said Redken values its longstanding relationship with West Georgia Tech.
“West Georgia Technical College has a great program,” Miller said. “With a retail salon on each of their five campuses, West Georgia Tech is teaching a huge number of new cosmetologists every year. We could not be more pleased that we have cemented our relationship with the College with this gift and with the Premier School program. As a Premier School, they have access to a tremendous amount of expertise and skill which will keep them on the very forefront of our industry.”
The Invest in the Next Generation campaign is raising funds in four areas, the Coweta Campus Fund, the Student Scholarship and Grant Fund, the Healthcare Fund and the Adult Education and Literacy Fund, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Dawn Cook said.
Cook said teams are now in the process of making proposals for support to numerous businesses, organizations and individuals.
Cook encouraged those interested in the campaign to visit the College’s website, www.westgatech.edu, to give online.
West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson and Troup counties and additional class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers over 130 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is the second largest of the state’s 28 technical colleges and one of the fastest-growing two-year colleges in the nation.
Winter Enrollment Up 20 Percent
Posted: January 21, 2010
Contact Ben Chambers, 770.537.5756
Winter Quarter classes are underway at West Georgia Technical College, and students again are enrolled in record numbers.
Preliminary figures show a 20.9 percent increase over the combined winter 2009 enrollment of West Central Technical College and West Georgia Technical College. The two colleges merged July 1.
Raw numbers show a 1,252 student increase for a total of 7,250 students enrolled at Georgia’s second largest technical college. The total is just 65 students shy of the College’s record-breaking fall quarter which just ended.
“We continue to see remarkable growth, notably at our Douglas Campus this quarter, but really across several campuses,” Vice President of Student Affairs Eddie Gore said.
“The opening of the College and Career Institute on the Douglas Campus last fall continues to attract dually enrolled high school students,” Gore said, “and that led the College to an all-time high of 392 high school students who are also taking college courses at West Georgia Tech.”
The number of students taking classes at the Douglas Campus, including CCI, is up over 43 percent to 1,720 students, making it the brick-and-mortar campus which serves the most students.
Interestingly, Gore said, the College’s number one campus by students served this quarter is online.
“Our by-campus student count shows that more students are taking classes online than at any single location the College has,” Gore said. “Enrollment in online classes more than doubled over last winter to a total of 1,919 students. That figure puts West Georgia Tech’s online enrollment in the top five statewide.”
President Dr. Skip Sullivan said the growth in the first three quarters of the merged West Georgia Tech has continued a trend that the old West Central Tech was already seeing.
“Prior to the merger, West Central had eight consecutive quarters of year-over-year, double-digit enrollment growth. The first three quarters as a merged College have continued that string,” Sullivan said.
“We are offering the type of fast-paced, hand-on, real world education that people are demanding in today’s economy,” he said.
Gore said that these preliminary numbers would continue to fluctuate as students get settled into classes.
West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson and Troup counties and additional class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers over 130 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is the second largest of the state’s 28 technical colleges and one of the fastest-growing two-year colleges in the nation.
Butler Gives Commencement Address
Posted: January 19, 2010
Contact Ben Chambers, 770.537.5756
District 18 State Representative Mark Butler (R-Carrollton) delivered an uplifting address to West Georgia Technical College graduates January 14, encouraging them to stay grounded and invest in relationships.
Butler, a Carrollton resident, addressed graduates at the College’s winter commencement exercises just four days into the state’s legislative session and a day after Governor Sonny Purdue delivered his State of the State address in the House chambers in Atlanta.
“I believe it was a great signal to our graduates that Rep. Butler took time out of a very busy and hectic legislative calendar to honor them,” President Dr. Skip Sullivan said. “As a College, we certainly work to honor the hard work of our graduates, and we deeply appreciate Rep. Butler for being here to celebrate these achievements with us and sharing such appropriate thoughts. He is a true friend to the College and steadfast supporter of technical education across the state.”
First elected in 2002, Butler has worked on and supported several legislative initiatives including the newly created Mental Health Ombudsman. This new position will protect the rights of citizens and work to make the mental health delivery system in Georgia more effective and efficient. He was also asked by Governor Sonny Purdue to co-chair the Human Resources taskforce. The work of this taskforce led to the largest restructuring of state government in 30 years after Representative Butler was asked by the Governor to carry this historic legislation to successful passage.
Through his position on the powerful Appropriations Committee, Representative Butler has been able to successfully advocate for over $100 million to build reservoirs which are much needed in the West Georgia area and tens of millions of dollars for public building projects in the 18th district.
Representative Butler earned his college degree from Auburn University in Public Administration. Locally, he is a member of Kiwanis Club and the Carroll County and Haralson County Chambers of Commerce. He is self-employed as a real estate appraiser and is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Butler spoke just before West Georgia Tech awarded about 100 associate degrees and technical diplomas. An additional 250 students were recognized for completion of a technical certificate of credit.
Graduation was held on the College’s Murphy Campus in Waco, Georgia. For more information, visit www.westgatech.edu.
West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson and Troup counties and additional class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers over 130 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is the second largest of the state’s 28 technical colleges and one of the fastest-growing two-year colleges in the nation.
Work Ready Region Sponsors WGTC Leadership Academy
Posted: January 12, 2010
Contact Ben Chambers, 770.537.5756
About 20 employees from several Troup County manufacturers recently earned their Managerial & Supervisory Leadership Certificates through the Leadership Academy at West Georgia Technical College thanks to the state’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Certified Work Ready Region.
AMP sponsored the program at the request of Troup County leaders who were concerned about preparing the next generation of leaders in business and industry.
Dr. Peter Snell, West Georgia Tech’s Executive Director of Economic Development, said that today’s economic climate poses a growing challenge for organizations and their succession management.
Snell said estimates are that about 1 in 5 executives at Fortune 500 companies currently are eligible for retirement and about 80 percent of the managers in the federal government currently are eligible for retirement. Percentages of those eligible for retirement in state, local, and municipal governments are unknown, Snell said, but expected to be alarmingly high.
“Many prospective retirees are postponing retirement just long enough for the market to recover so that they can afford to retire,” he said.
Snell said this means is that there will be a recruiting war for supervisory, managerial and leadership talent when the economy improves.
“Many, if not most, organizations are unprepared or underprepared as they attempt to delay the identification of replacements for executive,” he said. “Some will be forced to recruit externally and be faced with bidding wars with others who are also trying to recruit scarce supervisory, managerial and leadership talent. Many will look internally only to realize that their pool of succession candidates are severely lacking with skills necessary for these roles.”
The Leadership Certificate program offers employees of Troup County manufacturers an avenue to prepare for future leadership roles that are certain to percolate from an improving economy.
The sponsorship of AMP allowed West Georgia Tech to offer the Managerial & Supervisory Leadership Certificate through the College’s Leadership Academy.
The mission for the Technical College System of Georgia and each of its technical colleges is to facilitate economic and workforce development, President Dr. Skip Sullivan said.
“We are committed to the economic and workforce development of Troup County. Our collaboration with Troup County Certified Work Ready Community and the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Certified Work Ready Region illustrates that commitment,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan credited Diethard Linder, who serves as chairman of the LaGrange Development Authority, and others with the hard work to provide employees of manufacturers in Troup County the luxury of participating in the Leadership Academy at no charge, compliments of AMP.
Snell said WGTC’s Leadership Academy collaborated with Linder to develop a Managerial & Supervisory Certificate program that was tailored to the request of AMP and included seven customized courses: 1) Frontline Leadership & Mentoring, 2) Managerial Leadership, 3) Leadership Overview, 4) Effective Meetings & Presentations, 5) Organizational Behavior & Communication, 6) Professional Ethics & Etiquette and 7) Project Management, Teams, & Participation. The success Mr. Linder’s efforts and the Leadership Academy have also led to its duplication in Upson County and scheduled to begin in January, again, compliments of AMP.
The Georgia Work Ready initiative was launched in August 2006 by Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to improve the job training and marketability of Georgia’s workforce and drive future economic growth for the state.
Work Ready Certificatesare available to individuals in Troup County for free and are designed to provide employers with valuable documentation that illustrates they have met a minimum set of education and skill standards. This documentation may then be used by an employer to match an employee’s skills to current and future job opportunities through an occupational profile.
There are four assessments including Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Work Habits (Talent Assessment). For more information about free Work Ready Certificates, please contact the WGTC Economic Development Division at 706.756.4586 or visit www.westgatech.edu.
Customized Job Profiles also are available to employers for free and designed to provide valuable documentation that illustrates the minimum set of education and skill standards for a specific position. A trained profiler works collaboratively with groups of employees to complete a job analysis. This collaboration includes selecting the most critical job tasks, then analyzing these tasks to identify the minimal and optimal skills and skill levels required for an employee to perform effectively.
By matching the customized job profile with an employee’s Work Ready Certificate, an employer can make reliable decisions about hiring and training. Results are typically associated with decreased employee turnover, decreased training, decreased cost for training, increased productivity, and ultimately increased revenue.
Skills Gap Training is also available for free for individuals in Troup County who want to improve their scores and gain a higher-level certificate. For more information about free Skills Gap Training, please contact the WGTC Adult Education Division at 706.756.4587 or visit www.westgatech.edu.
Certified Work Ready Community provides Troup County with a means to illustrate to employers their commitment to economic and workforce development with its “validated” local workforce that is ready for employment. More simply stated, when a new business inquires about locating in Georgia, they will be inclined to begin with looking at those counties that are CWRC. Those that have not achieved CWRC may be overlooked. CWRC is being accomplished in Troup County through collaboration between WGTC, LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, Development Authority of LaGrange, local business and industry and Troup County School System. This collaboration required a formal plan to improve the community’s work ready status and minimum percentages of the workforce obtaining the WRC.
Certified Work Ready Region helps Troup County build upon its CWRC status with participation in AMP that was developed as a strategic manufacturing partnership between Coweta, Heard, Meriwether, Talbot, Troup and Upson. AMP promotes regional manufacturing resources.
“Coordinated through the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, the Georgia Work Ready initiative will be the catalyst that will cement in place the linking of education, workforce and economic development together and will ensure our state has the talent to fill the jobs of the 21st century economy,” Snell said.
West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson and Troup counties and additional class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers over 130 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is the second largest of the state’s 28 technical colleges and one of the fastest-growing two-year colleges in the nation.