The Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium has been recognized as a model program for workforce training in a report commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
ADTEC members include Mid-South Community College in West Memphis, Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville, Arkansas State University-Newport, East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City, and Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas in Helena.
The Gates Foundation spends approximately $200 million on grants to elementary and secondary education each year and has pledged to help double the number of low-income students who earn a postsecondary degree or credential with genuine value in the workplace by age 26. Bill Gates is co-founder of Microsoft.
"Employers, Low-Income Young Adults, And Postsecondary Credentials: A Practical Typology For Business, Education, And Community Leaders," compiled by the Workforce Strategy Center (WSC) in New York, cites ADTEC for best practices in building a highly-trained, highly-skilled labor pool.
ADTEC has now earned national recognition for three consecutive years. In 2008, the consortium was named a Recognition of Excellence winner by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration. Two years ago, ADTEC received a Southern Growth Policies Board 2007 Innovator Award.
[ Link to this article ]
