Birmingham Mayor William Bell was a special guest at Jefferson State Community College on December 12th. College officials met with the Mayor to discuss opportunities to increase outreach efforts to students in the Birmingham School System as well as share information about workforce education programs at the college.
Mayor Bell was also joined on the tour by representatives from the Alabama Community College System, Alabama Technology Network, and the City of Birmingham Office of Economic Development.
Jefferson State’s Interim President Keith Brown facilitated the visit and highlighted the college’s continued focus on building partnerships with business and industry, secondary schools, and the community to create specialized educational programs and career pathways for students.
Part of Mayor Bell’s visit featured a tour of the Nursing Simulation Lab where he was given an overview of how students utilize life-like training mannequins to learn and practice medical techniques and procedures. The Mayor also spent time in the Manufacturing Technology Center where he viewed electronics training boards and automation and robotics demonstrations. The AutoCAD lab rounded out the tour where student projects from the labs’ 3D printers were on display.
“We are pleased to have Mayor Bell visit our campus and proud to show the developments at Jefferson State,” said Jefferson State Interim President Keith Brown. “We will continue working together to positively support Birmingham’s workforce development initiatives and help citizens achieve their goals through exceptional education and workforce training.”
Shared during the visit was Jefferson State’s economic impact on the greater Birmingham area. Brown mentioned that according to an independent study, for every dollar spent on Jefferson State, the community receives $13.10 in benefit. In addition, Jefferson State, along with students and alumni, added some $439 million in income to the college’s four-county service area during 2013-14.
To further underscore the rising importance career and technical education, 7 out of 10 jobs will require an Associate’s Degree or industry-recognized certificate, according to labor trend projections over the next 10 years. Two out of 10 jobs will require a Bachelor’s degree and 1 out of 10 will require a Master’s degree.
