Valencia College issued the following announcement.
Valencia College has announced plans to expand its Accelerated Skills Training (AST) programs in Orange County with the development of a new Orlando Mid-town Center for Accelerated Training facility, which is scheduled to open in May 2021.
The facility will be located in the Princeton Oaks industrial park near the intersection of John Young Parkway and West Colonial Drive, and, at 26,400 square feet, it will become Valencia’s largest Center for Accelerated Training. The new facility is expected to serve up to 600 students each year.
Valencia’s AST program provides non-degree workforce development programs for residents in Orange and Osceola Counties. These current and future short-term skills training programs, which range from four to 20 weeks in length, focus on manufacturing, construction, healthcare, information technology and logistics.
Classes offered at the new Orlando Mid-town CAT Facility include welding, carpentry, masonry, apartment maintenance, distributions operations technician, information technology and electronic board assembly. Courses in forklift operation and to obtain a commercial driver’s license, as well as training to become a medical office specialist and for clinical medical assisting, are also available.
Valencia’s AST classes are geared towards students of all backgrounds, specifically those who are unemployed or underemployed, and feature a hands-on approach and quick job placement through the strong relationships that Valencia has with local industry partners. Community partners include Career Source of Central Florida, Jobs Partnership, Community Action, Community Vision, Parramore Engagement Council and others.
In the past five years, Valencia College’s AST programs have trained more than 2,000 individuals with a 95% completion rate. These students also experience an 82% placement rate in the industry that they have been trained in, with average starting wages at $15 an hour.
The new center will add to Valencia’s four facilities dedicated to AST programs, including CAT locations in Poinciana, Osceola and Downtown Orlando, as well as the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center. The college is also planning a 15,000-square-foot Center for Accelerated Training on Valencia’s East Campus, on Econlockhatchee Road. The East Campus CAT will provide short-term training in programs such as computer, electrical and mechanical fields, and is scheduled to open sometime in 2022.
“All of this that we are talking about would help us expand our capacity to serve residents in the community,” said Joe Battista, vice president of global, professional and continuing education at Valencia College.
To learn more about Valencia College’s Accelerated Skills Training programs, please visit: https://net1.valenciacollege.edu/continuing-education/accelerated-skills-training-programs/
Original source can be found here.
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