January 4, 2005 > Ohlone College Awarded Two Economic & Workforce Development Grants

Ohlone College has been awarded two grants to provide economic and workforce development activities in and around the college district. The two-year grants are funded through the California Community College Chancellor's Office Economic & Workforce Development Program. A primary mission of the California Community Colleges is to advance California's economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous work force improvement.

Maintained through direct public and private partnerships providing services throughout the state, the statewide program has 10 initiatives including Advanced Transportation Technologies; Biotechnologies; Business & Workforce Improvement; Environmental Technologies; Health Care; Multimedia & Entertainment; Workplace Learning Resources; Applied Competitive Technologies; International Trade; and Small Business Development.

The grants recently awarded to Ohlone College include the Sustainable Business Development project and the Biotechnology Education and Training Alliance. The Sustainable Business Development project will develop and deliver educational training opportunities to include sustainable design and construction, sustainable product development, energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable business development, and other identified training needs identified by partnering entities. The direct partners for the project are the Chambers of Commerce in Newark and Fremont; the California Integrated Waste Management Board, New United Motors Manufacturing, Incorporated; Borden Chemicals; Alameda County Workforce Investment Board; and Owens Design. For additional information about the Sustainable Business Development grant, please contact Vicki Shipman at 510-659-6000.

The Biotechnology Education and Training Alliance is designed to meet the needs of the biotechnology employers by providing quality educational training services that support and maintain the development of a well-trained workforce. During the two-year grant cycle, a minimum of 35 employers will participate in the project and a minimum of 350 participants will receive training. Training opportunities may include Bioinformatics, Sampling Strategies, Quality Controls, Lab Organization, DNA MicroArray, and other related biotechnology workforce issues identified by project partners. The direct partners for the project are the City of Fremont's Economic Development Office; Economic Development Alliance for Business; DiscoveRX; Alameda County Workforce Investment Board; and City College of San Francisco's BioLink. For additional information about the Biotechnology Education and Training Alliance grant, please contact Bob LoBue at 510-659-6000.