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By Latala Payne
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Published: October 10, 2008

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College does not only offer classes for 18-year-old freshmen, but also for older students coming back to college to learn news skills needed on their jobs. More than 15,500 of these non-credit students are enrolled in the Community College Workforce Alliance program.

The CCWA program is a partnership between J. Sargeant Reynolds and John Tyler community colleges and provides services for 12 counties and four cities in Central Virginia. It provides non-credit training, customized instruction, consulting, skills assessments and other educational programs.

“Enhancing jobs skills is exactly what we do,” said Nina Sims, the CCWA’s director of marketing and sales. “Most of the time, employers see skills that their employees need to catch up on. They can be things like time management, Microsoft Excel, and other various IT programs. Employers can also make up their own agendas, so they can get the results they want.”

CCWA is a program that students can use, even if they are not pursuing a traditional degree.

“Our classes can enhance their credentials during a job search,” said Sims. “An example of a complete program includes certificate programs for administrative professionals and those who work in human resources.”

In addition to the educational services provided for J. Sargeant Reynolds and John Tyler, it also provides job training services for government, corporate, non-profit and educational employers in the greater Richmond area. Recent CCWA customers include the VCU Health Systems, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Phillip Morris.

“My purpose for taking these courses was to continually develop my writing skills,” said Quenton Trice, the chief pf police at the Richmond Airport. “As an administrator, writing is essential to communicating important information. My professor actually provided me with basic English instructions that I should have attained and applied earlier.”

“If I had the funding, I would ensure that every officer that works for me would complete some basic writing skills development courses,” he added.

These classes offer skills that benefit the employer and the employee. There are many cases in which workers are recognized for their efforts and overall job improvement.

“I have applied what I learned from the Customer Service Academy at CCWA in dealing directly with citizens to resolve problems,” said Debra Pershing, the senior executive assistant to the city manager in Hopewell. “By doing so, I have earned the confidence not only in the city administration, but from the citizens as well. That is job satisfaction number one. I was also recognized in my employee evaluation with a bonus for my efforts.”

Students of the CCWA recognize the improvement of their work and job skills, so they have no problems recommending these classes to other individuals.

“I would certainly recommend the program to any interested individual who is looking to refine his or her knowledge in their field,” said Pamela Anderson, a senior human resources specialist, also for the City of Hopewell. “All locations are convenient, and the level of professionalism in the classroom is of the highest standards.”

CCWA has training facilities all around the Richmond area including sites at the North Run Corporate Park (near the Parham Road Campus of J. Sargeant Reynolds), at the Chester Campus of John Tyler, and at the Featherstone Corporate Business Park in Midlothian. Some training resources are also available on the CCWA website.

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