On Thursday, June 9th, the Lorain County JVS Adult Career Center proudly celebrated students who successfully completed a career development program for the 2010-2011 school year. Students were recognized from the following programs: Auto Technology, Building Trades, Computer Business Technology, Cooking and Food Service, Cosmetology, Medical Assisting, and Precision Machine Technology. In addition, students who successfully passed their GED were honored.

On June 23rd, Jessica Nugyen, the first Lorain County JVS Adult Career Center student to ever compete in the national SkillsUSA Championships, earned third in the nation for the nail division of Cosmetology in the postsecondary division. The 2011 SkillsUSA Championships, which took place in Kansas City, Missouri, is a week-long event in which state champions from across the country demonstrate occupational and leadership skills excellence. This year, more than 5,700 competitors participated in 94 contests.

After her win, Nugyen (pronounced "win"), was invited to be a voting delegate for the election of new officers for the following year and to serve on their committee. Her service will help advance the SkillsUSA applied method of instruction for preparing America's high performance workers in public career and technical programs. The mission of the organization is to provide quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. Participation in SkillsUSA events helps to build and reinforce self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. The emphasis is on total quality at work-high ethical standards, superior work skills, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work. SkillsUSA also promotes understanding of the free-enterprise system and involvement in community service by partnering with more than 1,100 business, industry and labor sponsors which enable financial aid, in-kind contributions, and involvement of their people in SkillsUSA activities. For more information on SkillsUSA, go to www.skillsusa.com.

One of the most important roles the JVS Adult Career Center offers to our community is workforce retraining. Whether an individual is interested in starting a new career, improving current job skills or enhancing his or her daily life, we focus our efforts on getting Lorain County to work. This week's video features Irene Kellett, who came to us to train for a new career after retirement. In our Medical Assisting class, she and her fellow students discovered that they all came from different places in their lives--and that they and their instructors were all there to support one another to ensure success. She credits the hands-on training in our new Medical Technology Lab and additional support services (such as the ability to come back to brush up on skills before an interview) as key components to her success. Whatever the magic formula, we are proud to share that Irene is now employed at Mercy Hospitals. We hope you enjoy meeting her just as much as we have. Watch video featuring Irene...

Congratulations to the 2011 Phlebotomy Cass for successful completion of their program. The spring class is already engaged in the interview process after positive externship experiences with our friends at the Cleveland Clinic. We were especially pleased to learn that many of our students were matched with past grads of the JVS Adult Career Center phlebotomy program during their externship. What a great way to help our students feel comfortable on the job-to work directly with fellow students who have "been there, done that". This helped our students to feel more at ease on the job, which in turn will help them be more successful. We wish all of our students the best of luck as they continue their careers!

The Lorain County JVS Adult Career Center will offer summer programs for the first time, to help provide increased retraining options and valuable certification for Lorain County residents as the job market improves in northeast Ohio.

"Our organization has seen a definite increase in job orders this year, most notably in the areas of manufacturing and health care," says Director Chris Fletcher. "As an organization committed to providing a skilled workforce to our business and industry partners, we felt it was important to provide additional opportunities to help Lorain County residents connect to today's in-demand jobs."

(Another great article of interest, this editorial was originally published on Monday, June 6, 2011)

The Columbus Dispatch
Gov. John Kasich might be mistaken if he still thinks vocational education is generally "badmouthed" - actually, programs have evolved and grown in recent years - but he's absolutely right that it should be playing an essential part in revitalizing Ohio's economy.
Ohio's young people need a range of options for work, training and education. The surprising flip side of that fact is that good jobs in Ohio are going unfilled because would-be employers can't find high-school graduates with the technical education and skills they need.

(We thought you might be interested in this article about the President's push towards hiring in manufacturing. Click here for information on our Precision Machine Technology class.

President Announces New Initiative to Promote Manufacturing Certificates

On June 8, ACTE Executive Director Jan Bray was invited to attend a special press event hosted by The Manufacturing Institute and Skills for America's Future. President Obama spoke at the event, which was also attended by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. The president highlighted the need to train individuals with the skills necessary to fill jobs in the manufacturing industry.

The Lorain County JVS Adult Career Center, in partnership with Lakewood Automation, hosted the first of two free Human Machine Interface (HMI) training sessions this summer. The session, which was open to the public, was held at the Lorain County JVS on June 22 with the intent to introduce improved tracking, quality control, and return on investment to Lorain County's manufacturing workforce.

At the first session, a dozen attendees received hands-on training in basic HMI operations, allowing the user to monitor and control process to help save manufacturing companies time and money.

The second training session will focus on intermediate functions on Wednesday, July 6th. Lunch is included. Individuals interested in attending must RSVP to: Russ Beach, Industrial Training Program Developer, 440-774-1051 ext. 2279 or

Education Week (6/8, Gewertz) reports, "After years of intense focus by American policy leaders and educators on college readiness, a growing chorus is calling for schools to better prepare students for futures that might not include four-year degrees." The piece cites a recent Harvard study titled "Pathways to Prosperity" which focuses on "concerns...as the country's dominant education push has been to raise academic standards and make more young people into successful college students. By pressing students onto a college path, some observers wonder, are we shortchanging students whose future plans might not include a baccalaureate degree?" The piece notes that a large percentage of jobs created between now and 2018 will not require a college degree, and quotes Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying, "It's about giving students a more robust set of options and letting them choose their own path."

The JVS Adult Career Center is now registering students for 2011-2012 Career Development programs. To register, individuals should call the JVS at 440-774-1051 ext. 2254 to schedule an information session, which is the first step in the registration process.

Information sessions provide prospective students with the opportunity to learn more about JVS Career Development programs including their curricula, expectations, financial aid, and employment opportunities. Information sessions run throughout the day, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Career Development programs have been developed to help Lorain County residents further their education, earn a valuable industry credential, specialize in their field or embark on a new career in target industry sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing which are currently hiring, including the following:

o Medical Assisting
o Phlebotomy
o Pharmacy
o Dental /Radiography
o Medical Office
o Certified Electronic Health Records
o Computerized Business Technology
o Cooking & Food Service
o Cosmetology
o Managing Manicurist
o Esthetician
o Precision Machine Trades
o Auto Technology
o Building Trades
o Welding/Fabrication

"In today's job market, employers are asking us to provide training opportunities that provide workers with the hands-on experience and skills they will need to succeed on the job," says Chris Fletcher, JVS Adult Career Center Director. "Our students benefit from low-cost training which in many cases incorporates work-based experiences. The result of this is that many of our students are placed in jobs immediately upon completion of their programs. Programs such as Precision Machine Trades historically places 90% before they've even finished the program. Now that's results."

The JVS Adult Career Center is pleased to share that its Certified Medical Assisting Program has met the retention, job placement, graduate survey, and employer survey outcome thresholds demanded by the esteemed Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB). In 2010, the MAERB began to monitor JVS data regarding the newly-established exam threshold which requires 70% of our program's graduates to pass one of the nationally-accredited certification exams. At the JVS Adult Career Center, our students are prepared for passage of the highly-regarded, widely recognized AAMA CMA Certification Examination. Congratulations to Nancy Smith, Dena Dennis, and Allan Krist for your continued efforts in producing quality medical assistants, as demonstrated by meeting all of the outcome thresholds!

If you haven't already "Liked" the Lorain County JVS Adult Career Center, this is a great day to do it! Check out photos from the JVS Adult Career Center completion ceremony, watch a video of one of our Medical Assisting students who now works at Mercy Hospitals, catch up on industry news, and get job leads! See you there...

This year the JVS Adult Career Center has helped more adults than ever before prepare for and receive their GED. The class, which is free, is effective for a number of reasons, I think. Our classes are conducted in a small-group setting, instructors care about them and give them tons of homework, and testing is done right here at the JVS in the setting that is already comfortable and familiar to them. It's a program we are very, very proud of, and we applaud each of our students who are poised to go on and do more amazing things.
This week's video features Bruce, who not only earned his GED this year, but came back to the JVS as a tutor for our students. He will be this year's speaker during our completion ceremony which will be held this Thursday, June 9th, to celebrate all of our students who successfully completed 600 hours or more of training. We are proud to share that the audience will be filled with nearly 100 of our GED students and their family members as we recognize their achievements. View video blog with Bruce here!

Due to high demand, the summer GED Class is closed. The waiting list for summer classes is also closed.
2011-2012 classes will begin in mid-September. If you or someone you know would like to participate in the classes beginning in September, call us after August 1 to register for an orientation. The number to call is 440-774-1051 ext. 2254.

In the meantime, we've collected some answers to our frequently asked questions...