| The San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) is 1 of 72 community college districts within the California Community College System. SBCCD provides vocational, occupational, and workforce training programs through two colleges: San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College. The Professional Development Center (PDC) is an arm of SBCCD that provides customized training and retraining for the local workforce and short-term professional development training programs for individual students. It is housed on the grounds of the San Bernardino International Airport, formerly Norton Air Force Base.
SBCCD will use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to develop and construct the Applied Technologies Training Center as an annex to the PDC. The project agenda consists of two components: 1) new facility design and construction, and 2) the creation and delivery of training programs. The facility will enable the PDC to house an applied technology center that will offer short-term training programs in cutting-edge computer software applications, transportation information systems, logistics, warehouse management, and related areas. The focus of the programs is to assist unemployed and underemployed workers find high-paying jobs with opportunities for advancement in increasingly technical and computer-driven industries. The new center will serve citizens and employers throughout SBCCD's service area, which includes the cities of San Bernardino, Colton, Rialto, Redlands, Yuciapa, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, and Fontana.
The project is in response to a downturn in the local economy due to employer downsizing and military base closures. According to the San Bernardino Consolidated Plan, the city has a tremendous opportunity to build its attractiveness for new business development, but to accommodate anticipated growth and a boom in the applied technology and transportation-related industries, San Bernardino must contend with pressing housing needs and market conditions, including the need for a highly trained work force. An "Educational Needs Assessment Employer Survey" conducted by California State University (San Bernardino), in partnership with the Center for Business Excellence, SBCCD, indicated that 67 percent of the employers surveyed need "computer skills" training for their employees, while statistics compiled by San Bernardino County in 1997 revealed that 10 percent of employers go outside the county to recruit computer/technology professionals. Local vocational schools and colleges offer degree programs in these areas, but are not responsive to the needs of business and industry for short-term, customized, and flexible training delivered in nontraditional settings outside of work day hours.
Planning for the new center involved collaboration between the faculty of the two community colleges, PDC staff, and the district office. The project also integrates the resources of community agencies and business partners to promote economic independence for members of the community and to create a support model for future programs of this type. In addition to the HSIAC grant, funding for the development of the Applied Technologies Training Center will be provided through the California Trade and Commerce Agency, Defense Adjustment Matching Grant Program (to aid in the rehabilitation of former military bases). An advisory committee will execute, monitor, and evaluate the on-going services provided by the center.
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