The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Manufacturing program gains national recognition
WATERBURY – The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC) at NVCC has been selected as one of 10 national finalists for the 2019 Bellwether Award in the area of workforce development at the February 2nd-5th Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio.
The awards are given annually in three categories to colleges with outstanding and innovative programs or practices. The Assembly focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating.
NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis said, “This recognition reflects the good work of our Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC) team and its director, Joseph DeFeo, and the NVCC Grants Office, led by Janis Petrillo. The AMTC boasts significant achievements in the development of the region’s manufacturing workforce including, industry certifications, incentive awards, 100% jobplacement rates and a record number of women in the Class of 2018.”
Waldemar Kostrzewa, Dean of Community Engagement, will lead the NVCC team organized to compete at the Assembly.
“I am honored to coordinate our finalist presentation team. They represent the major state, regional, local, and college partners that have led to AMTC success,” he said.
In addition to Kostrzewa, team members are Catherine Awwad, Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board; Joseph DeFeo, AMTC Director; Waterbury Mayor Neil M. O’Leary, Chair of the NVCC Regional Advisory Council; and Cyndi Zoldy, Executive Director of the Smaller Manufacturers Association of Connecticut.
Over the last six years, NVCC’s AMTC initiatives have made a difference in the manufacturing sector of the state’s economy. In the spring of 2014, the College began to offer the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) certification resulting in an impressive completion rate of 127 credentialed students.
By June 2017, NVCC led the way with 162 NIMS certifications, a 27.5 percent increase. Since the beginning of the NIMS program, 510 NIMS certificates have been issued to the AMTC students from both the Waterbury and Danbury programs.
Celebrating the highest number of certifications out of the seven community colleges in the state system with Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centers, NVCC is again poised to advance the interests of local employers. These nationally recognized, portable, and stackable credentials are often used by manufacturers to identify qualified candidates for employment.
Industry certifications, incentive awards, and excellent job-placement rates are hallmarks of NVCC’s manufacturing center programs. In fall 2017, NVCC added to the list by welcoming a record number of women to the Class of 2018.
The Bellwether College Consortium (BCC) is an elite group of colleges charged with the mission to address the critical issues facing community colleges through applicable research and the promotion and replication of best practices addressing workforce development, instructional programs and services, and planning governance and finance. The BCC holds an annual policy summit addressing pertinent issues facing community colleges. The summit brings together higher education researchers, national and institutional leaders, and industry experts to determine more effective solutions.
The Bellwether Awards are an integral part of the Community College Futures Assembly, established in 1995. The Assembly is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida and The Bellwether Award is competitively judged and given by peers in community colleges, with no cash award.
Naugatuck Valley Community College serves Beacon Falls, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Cheshire, Danbury, Middlebury, Naugatuck, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Sherman, Southbury, Thomaston, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown and Woodbury. The College is located on a 110-acre campus at 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, Conn., and in Danbury at 190 Main Street. The College is one of 17 institutions governed by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education. Visit nv.edu for more information.