​On Tuesday, February 2nd, students interviewed with six different manufacturing companies from the area. The program, called FIT 4 Manufacturing, is designed to give individuals a basic familiarity with the manufacturing industry, its career ladders and to prepare participants for entry level positions.
 
Over the last several weeks, eight individuals have experienced hands-on instruction in manufacturing processes such as grinding, milling, die setting and precision measurement. They have also attended classes on communication skills, powered industrial trucks, career ladders, work ethic, resume writing, and mock interviewing. Almost every student who has completed the FIT 4 programs since 2012 has been offered at least one position as a result of the final interview day. The participating companies on February 2nd included: Elk County Heat Treaters, J.I.T. Tool & Die, Keystone Powdered Metal, Metal Powder Products (MPP), Metaldyne (St Marys), and Metco/Pro-Process. Two of the eight students who participated in this most recent class received jobs prior to the conclusion of the program.
 
The program is coordinated by the Community Education Center of Elk and Cameron Counties and the PA CareerLinks® Elk, Clearfield, and McKean Counties and is funded by the North Central Workforce Development Board. For more information, contact the CEC at 781-3437 or the PA CareerLink® at 834-2857. 

New Rural Regional College of Northern Pennsylvania and the Education Consortium of the Upper Allegheny Working on College Plan
 
The Board of Trustees of the Rural Regional College of Northern Pennsylvania (RRC), appointed in December 2014 by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, has been making plans and progressing toward the launch of a new and unique college for nine counties in northwest Pennsylvania. The new college will provide affordable, accessible associate degrees, certificates, and training programs for residents of Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren Counties.
 
The Board has taken steps to formally incorporate, establish by-laws, access funding through the Department of Education (PDE), and name the Education Consortium of the Upper Allegheny (ECUA) as the Project Executive. The ECUA will be responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Board of Trustees and oversee the development of the operational and financial plans for the new college. “There is a lot of work to be done in the next several months, and we are excited to have the ECUA assisting the Board,” said former state senator and Chair of the RRC Board, Mary Jo White. “There is a clear need for accessible and affordable opportunities for technical training and associate degree programs for the Northwest and North Central regions and the educational opportunities provided by this new college must be aligned to the needs of regional employers,” continued White. The 7,000 square miles the college is charged with serving will present a unique opportunity for the Board to develop innovative delivery methods utilizing existing capacity and infrastructure throughout the region. “We want every community from Erie to Emporium to be able to access education through this new college.”
The Board has targeted the fall of 2017 for enrolling students as it continues to develop the plans for the college, including the search for a President and Chief Financial Officer.
After several years of planning and with the input of educators and industry leaders across the northern tier of Pennsylvania, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) and Senator Scott Hutchinson (R-21) worked with the House of Representatives, particularly Representatives Martin Causer and Kathy Rapp who introduced legislation which sought to establish this rural community college. With passage of PA 126 of 2014, the Rural, Regional College of Northern Pennsylvania was created and funding was appropriated. Through the ECUA pilot program, designed to test a delivery model and prove the need for such an educational option, and in partnership with Gannon University, ECUA has been providing accessible associate degree programs at community college cost to underserved residents of the region since 2012 and was instrumental in the development of the legislation for the new college. ECUA will continue to provide these affordable associate degrees through Gannon University until the new Rural, Regional College opens. For more information, contact Duane Vicini at 814-757-5731.
#

Leadership Elk County Arts and Education Day
On Wednesday, February 10th the Leadership Elk County class met for their monthly session. This month, Arts and Educational opportunities in Elk County were highlighted. The group started the day at ECCHS where they heard from the High School Principal, Sandy Florig, the Technology Coordinator, Marlene Stubber, and School Counselor, Jill Struble. The team discussed the recent physical and educational changes to the school and highlighted their recent iPad, dual enrollment, and career education initiatives.  Pete Winklebauer, Art teacher and local artist gave an overview and tour of the high school’s art department.
Abbi Peters, Executive Director at Elk County Council on the Arts (ECCOTA) joined the group at ECC to speak about the county’s Arts in Education initiatives and grants that are available for arts programming in the area.  
The group then traveled to SMAHS where the High School Principal, Joe Schlimm and Assistant Principal, Warren Beck highlighted the career and technical education facilities in the high school. Mr. Schlimm lead the group on a tour of the Building Construction and Metal Working Occupations programs where instructors, Ed Brem and Ben Schneider highlighted projects their students are working on.  
The group enjoyed a delicious lunch at the SMAHS cafeteria. The day’s lunch and transportation were sponsored by C&A Seamless Gutters. Following lunch, the group headed to Ridgway where they toured ECCOTA and Elkwood Arts at Dickinson Center where Production Manager, Tim Thomas gave an overview of the many products and services that are offered through their wood shop and sheltered workshop program.  
The group ended the day with a trip to Brockway to visit the BC3 community college campus where Jill Martin-Rend, BC3@Brockway Director, gave a presentation on the new educational opportunities available to residents of Elk County. Chuck Purviance, Arts Programming Coordinator at Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) shared information on the free youth arts program and adult education certificate courses for Elk residents at the center. He also highlighted the adult art classes that BCAT offers. Chuck awed the class by giving his presentation while demonstrating how to create a ceramic bowl with a potter’s wheel. To finish out the day Kate Brock, CEC Executive Director and Board Secretary of the newly developed Rural Regional Community College discussed the educational opportunities currently available through the Community Education Center and the future opportunities that will be available through a Rural Regional Community College initiative.
The Leadership Elk County class is offered in partnership through the Community Education Center, the Ridgway-Elk County Chamber of Commerce and the St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce. Applications for next year’s class will be available in April. For more information, visit leadershipelkcounty.com or contact the CEC at cec@communityedcenter.com or (814) 781-3437.