Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC students tout training partnerships to Bush Cabinet

Photos and Story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Steven Watkins (second from right) turned to Portland Community College when he was laid off his job as a lab analyst for a high-tech firm in California in 2001. He returned to Oregon to look for work and learned of a special program between Intel and PCC that allows students to study for a degree in microelectronics technology while working part-time at Intel. The Beaverton resident graduates this June and is earning a 3.79 GPA."This program is getting me back on my feet again,"said Watkins, speaking today at an event with Bush Cabinet members Elaine Chao, secretary of labor (center), Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans (right of Chao), Treasury Secretary John Snow (fourth from left), and Hector Barreto, Small Business Administration administrator (third from left), at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus in Washington County.Bush’s Cabinet members were in town to promote the president’s $250 million job-training proposal to help community colleges train workers and match them with employers, which he announced during his State of the Union speech last month. The secretaries are on a tour of Washington and Oregon, having visited Spokane, Yakima and Richland yesterday before arriving in Portland.Also sharing the stage were PCC District President Jerry Berger (far right); Providence Health System of Oregon’s CEO Russ Danielson (far left); former PCC students Kha T. Le (third from right), who trained in a PCC-federal workforce program and now works for Merix Corp. of Forest Grove, and Bev Nisson (second from left), another Beaverton resident and graduate of PCC’s sonography program, sponsored in part by Providence and other areas hospitals. Rock Creek Campus President Bill Christopher provided welcoming remarks. Chao moderated the event before a group of approximately 150 invited guests, PCC staff and media representatives and said, "Our economy is getting better, with five straight months of growth, but as the President says, ?one worker out of work is one worker too many.’"Chao reminded people that the Labor department is about training, and the visit to Portland Community College is "showing the flexibility and responsiveness that community colleges have to respond to the training needs of our workforce."PCC President Jerry Berger said, "As the largest provider of workforce training in the state of Oregon, PCC is a perfect venue for such a discussion. We know the connection between education and the health and success of our business and industry partners. We provide training that lead to careers, not just jobs. PCC and other community colleges are vital links in preparing a skilled workforce of today."He also said community colleges "take people where they are and take them to where they want to go."The secretaries visit to Oregon comes on the tail of several years of crushing job loss and high unemployment. Oregon still holds the second highest unemployment rate in the nation, posting 7.2 percent unemployment in December. Many view community college training as a key player in positioning the state for economic reform. The visit by the Bush team helps underscore the important role the community college plays in helping Oregonians get back on their feet. The proposed $250 million in training funds for community colleges will be set up as a competitive process. Community colleges across the country, 1,173 of them, would potentially be eligible to apply for the training grants. Russ Danielson of Providence Health Systems brought a roar of applause when he said, "I hope as you head back to Washington, D.C. and divide up those dollars, you look disproportionately (more) to Oregon."Danielson said that although "Oregon has a tremendous problem with unemployment, there are great opportunities." He mentioned one of the largest hurdles in Oregon and across the country of "not enough slots in the community college system to train and get health care workers in the system."Don Evans, secretary of commerce, reiterated Chao’s optimistic economic outlook. "The best days of Portland, of Oregon, are ahead of us,"he said. "We have a strong economy and it is getting better."John Snow, treasury secretary, acknowledged the deficit, blaming it on the recession the administration inherited and the costly war on terror following events of 9-11. "We’re going to cut it in half in the next five years, "he said. Snow also praised community colleges as "dynamic institutions, responsive to community, aligned with community needs."Hector Barreto, administrator of the Small Business Administration, mentioned the Small Business Development centers, PCC’s SBDC, and said, "At one point Intel was a small business and came to the SBA."He also referred to the changing workforce and technologies, noting that "the 21st century jobs are going to be different than the 20th century, especially in areas of technology and that community colleges play a key role in the training."Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary educational institution in Oregon, enrolling 100,000 students annually, and operating three comprehensive campuses along with five workforce training and education centers, a small business development center and education outlets in hundreds of community and business locations. The college offers 70 associate degree, certificate and career training programs in areas ranging from aviation technology to veterinary technology, plus 40 different types of college transfer courses and programs. It is the most diverse college in the state.