HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning)
Auburn Career Center
8140 Auburn Road
Concord Twp., OH 44077
www.auburncc.org
Doug Daugherty, Assistant Principal/Director of Adult Education
Phone: 440-358-8033
Auburn Career Center offers a two-year Adult Education Heating and Air Conditioning program which focuses on the installation, service and repair of residential and commercial heating systems. The program prepares students for taking the EPA Refrigerant Transition and Recovery (CFC) certification exam and leads to career opportunities in the HVAC industry, including Service Technician and Maintenance and Service Installer. The HVAC program has structured partnerships with Local Business and Industry. These partnerships provide curriculum input on a local level, in addition the local business and industry has helped to outfit the classrooms with state-of-the-art equipment.
The majority of Auburn students enrolled in the HVAC program are current workers who are already established in a job or profession in the workforce. These students are looking to continue their education through skill upgrades so they can achieve job and earnings advancement.
“The local push from business and industry along with the increased enrollment in the program gave us no choice but to expand the program”, according to Doug Daugherty, Director of Adult education at Auburn Career Center. “The students love the program as evidenced by our enrollment, the program is over subscribed, and business and industry has been our best ally in the continuation of the extremely successful program.”
Project SEARCH – A Collaborative Employment Approach for Students with Disabilities
Great Oaks Institute of Technical and Career Development
3254 East Kemper Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45241
www.greatoaks.com
Rebecca Beckstedt
Phone: 513-612-3606
The High School Transition program of Project SEARCH is a nationally recognized one-year program for students with disabilities. It is targeted for students in their last year of high school whose main goal is competitive employment. Students enrolled in the program come from our 36 affiliated school districts. The program takes place in a healthcare or business setting where total immersion in the workplace facilitates the learning process through continuous feedback and application of new skills.
Last year, Project SEARCH was one of nine recipients to receive the New Freedom Initiative Award from Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao. This prestigious award recognizes exemplary and innovative efforts to train and employ people with disabilities. Other recipients included the Marriott Foundation, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft.
Over 77% of the graduates from this program are employed or pursuing continuing education. In one of the programs at Provident Bank, that statistic is 100%, and the average wage exceeds $9/ hour. Designed to train students for jobs that local employers specifically need, this program demonstrates true collaboration between business, education and the community. In order to provide work site experiences, Great Oaks partners with Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Clinton Memorial Hospital and Provident Bank. Students choose to work at one of these sites and rotate through three to four work experiences during the year.
A typical school day includes classroom instruction in employability skills, participation at one or more worksite rotations, lunch with peers and feedback from the instructor. Rotations are designed to compliment the student’s interests, skills and strengths. Individualized job development and placement begins after the rotations are completed. Students are given support through on-the-job coaching and worksite accommodations with the ultimate goal of independence.
Partnerships with the appropriate community services, such as Ohio Rehabilitation Commission and county MR/DD boards, ensure that students successfully transition from school to work, as well as continue on and advance in their chosen careers.
This program is an incredible testimony to what can be accomplished when teachers, businesses, families, and students work together to do what it takes to ensure the success of each student. As the father of one of our students told us: “I never thought my child would do anything on his own, and now he has a full-time job.” Fighting back the tears he said, “Today we went to his place of work to plan his retirement.”
DaimlerChrysler College Automotive Program (CAP)
Sinclair Community College
444 West Third Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402-1460
Phone: 800-315-3000
Steven Ash, Chair/Professor, Automotive Technology
Phone: 937-512-3242
Fax: 937-512-2279
The DaimlerChrysler College Automotive Program (CAP), within Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, was the first of its kind in Ohio when the partnership began in 1994. Today the CAP program has grown to become the largest in the nation.
Students enrolled in the two year CAP program earn an Associate of Applied Science degree from Sinclair Community College, the DaimlerChrysler CAP credential, and the promise of full-time employment at the training dealership. The program’s curriculum, which is designed by both the DaimlerChrysler Corporation and the Sinclair Community College, involves classroom and laboratory instruction.
Students work on a variety of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products at the college. During their time at the dealerships, students learn from mentors on-site, who are trained through the college’s award winning design mentoring program.
The CAP program provides the students and sponsoring dealerships with several benefits. The Dealers find that the students are earning their way in the dealership and the students who take advantage of the numerous incentive offers in the DaimlerChrysler contact option continue to benefit after graduation. Each year 100 percent of CAP program graduates are offered continuing employment at sponsoring dealerships.
In addition to being named the CAP School of the Year by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation in 2003 and 2004, the Sinclair CAP program leads the nation’s 35 Cap programs in the number of training hours completed by faulty, graduates and instructors who are certified to name a few.
“The CAP curriculum at Sinclair Community College produces well-rounded students. It’s commendable that there is emphasis on work basics such as getting to work as well as technical training in state-of-the-art facilities,” comments an industry leader.
