
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 3, 1995                   TAG: 9511030057
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COMMUNITY COLLEGES FIND A ROLE IN INDUSTRY TRAINING

More than eight in 10 Virginia businesses must train the employees they hire and the greatest percentage do so through a community college program if they don't do it themselves, a survey has found.

The survey by George Mason University student James H. Jackson depicted the state's 23 community colleges as businesses' training tool of choice - ahead of four-year universities, high schools and private schools.

Universities were the next most popular source of outside training but were not the dominant source because of their higher cost.

The survey was released Thursday by Virginia Community College Chancellor Arnold R. Oliver Jr. at a meeting in Roanoke of the state Board for Community Colleges. The survey was done at the request of community college leaders, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Bob Skunda, the Virginia Manufacturers Association and Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

College officials took the results as an endorsement of their customized training programs for industry. In the past two years, Virginia Western Community College has aided about 1,000 employees of about 40 companies in the Roanoke Valley area.

"We're headed, I think, in the right direction," said Karen J. Petersen, the community college system's vice chancellor for administrative services.

But business officials also told survey takers there is room for improvement, because the training at community colleges is sometimes too broad, and some schools need better equipment and facilities. The survey did not ask the 2,695 companies that responded to give details of their criticisms.

Of the employers surveyed, 83 percent reported arranging for some kind of training for employees. Nearly 53 percent of that group trained the workers themselves. Of the 47 percent who went outside the company, 66 percent contacted a community college, while 55 percent contacted a four-year university and 40 percent contacted a high school or federal job training program. The numbers add up to more than 100 because some companies contacted more than one institution.

About three in four companies that contacted a community college or university about training told survey takers that all of their needs were eventually met. Companies most often wanted employees trained to use a computer, be supervisors, interact more effectively with other people, learn quality assurance or master job-specific skills.

Mike Byrd, Virginia Western's director of worker training services, said the disciplines offered by his program range from machining and electronics to salesmanship and proficiency in the ISO 9000 quality program. Companies using the services have included Connex Pipe Systems of Botetourt County, MascoTech Body System and Assembly in Salem and AMP Inc. of Roanoke.

The college charges $46.65 per student, per credit hour; one credit hour corresponds to 15 hours of training. Instruction is offered on campus or at the business. AMP workers recently learned blueprint reading between midnight and 8 a.m at the plant, he said.

"We'll do it any time and anyplace," Byrd said.

by CNB