Accelerated Help Desk Training Bridging IT Talent With Workforce Needs

1. Accelerated Help Desk Training Bridging IT Talent With Workforce Needs HELIX 2010 Tom Cupples, Ed.D, CISSP Craig Chott, CISSP Judy Koenig, Project Manager Thursday, March 18, 2010

2. Mission Statement St. Louis Community College expands minds and changes lives every day. We create accessible, dynamic learning environments focused on the needs of our diverse communities. South County Education and University Center Florissant Valley campus

3. About the College • Largest community college system in Missouri • Ranks among the nation’s top 25 associate degree-producing institutions • District encompasses 718 square miles, includingSt. Louis City and County and portions of Franklin and Jefferson counties STLCC is one of the nation’s top associate degree-producing institutions.

4. About the College • Four campuses at Florissant Valley, Forest Park, Meramec and Wildwood • Three education centers in St. Louis County, northSt. Louis City and downtown St. Louis • Numerous satellite locations in area business, industrial, neighborhood and educational sites • Administrative Center, 300 South Broadway • 3,710 full- and part-time employees Florissant Valley Emerson Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Forest Park campus Meramec campus Wildwood campus

5. Enrollment Profile (Fall 2009) • 28,019 students enrolled in credit courses • Median Age: 23/Average Age: 27 • 61% Female • Race and culture • Caucasian = 13,133 (47%) • African-American = 7,548 (27%) • Asian = 754 (3%) • Hispanic/Latino = 692 (2%) • Multiracial/Other Minority = 554 (2%) • Unknown = 5,348 (19%) • Represent 121 countries and 42 different language (top 5 are Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Bosnian, and African dialects) STLCC has a diverse student population.

6. Private and public sector partners who have come together to make sure that St. Louis attracts, develops, and retains the great IT talent we need to compete in the global marketplace.

7. Meetings included area business professionals and academics. • Results indicated a local need for trained help desk professionals.

8. We designed an academic program to respond quickly to the needs. • Combined response included the cooperative effort of multiple STLCC campuses and the downtown • training center resources.

9. Accelerated Help Desk Technician: A Pilot An intense non-credit program for displaced workers being piloted through Workforce and Community Development. Prepares individuals to become Tier 1 and 2 Help Desk Technicians. Covers CompTIA’s A+, Linux+, Network+, Security+ Certifications as well as Microsoft Windows XP Certification.

10. What is a Help Desk Technician? • Provides hardware, software, and procedural support to end-users in business, industry, government, and education; • Manages technical resources in the organization; • Gives logistical support to design and development of network and information technology infrastructure; and • Maintains security of technical and non-technical infrastructure resources in the enterprise.

11. The STLCC Distinction In addition to the technical skills, we prepared the students to enter the job force with skills like: How to write a resume How to prepare for an interview How to compete in the interview How to get the job How to keep the job How to advance in your career

12. The STLCC Distinction And how to be successful in the career with skills like: professional development strategies How to manage your time; How to make yourself marketable; and How to keep yourself marketable; the secret to Managing the problem client; Managing the problem boss; and Maintaining your psychological edge in a stressful environment.

13. The Process Steps • Creating the Partnership • Defining the Curriculum • Obtaining the Funding • Obtaining the Human Resources • Preparing the Materials • Logistics • Marketing the Program

14. Creating the Partnership • The initial proposal • Brainstorming the possibilities • Obtaining buy-in

15. Defining the Curriculum Based upon Academic collaboration Current industry trends Expected skill level of the audience • Prerequisites

16. Prerequisites End-user skills with Windows-based personal computers, including the ability to: • Browse and search for information on the Internet • Start up and shut down the computer • Log on to a computer and computer network • Run programs • Move, copy, delete, and rename files in Windows Explorer Basic knowledge of computing concepts, including: • The difference between hardware and software • The functions of software components, such as the operating system, applications, and file systems.

17. Obtaining the Funding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for initial start-up $74,250 Setup and first 15 students Workforce Investment Act (WIA) for student funding $4,950 per student Adult and Dislocated Worker qualifies

18. Obtaining the Human Resources Technical Training • College Career Credit Faculty used; allowed under overload provision of contract Soft Skills Training • Current Human Resources personnel used Project Management • Judy Koenig, Project Manager for CBIL

19. Preparing the Materials Choice of Textbooks • Axzo Press for CompTIA • MOAC for Microsoft Preparation of Open Lab • Hardware for A+ Training • Hardware for Operating Systems Training Removable Hard Drives

20. Logistics Ordering Textbooks Allocating Parking Reserving Test Vouchers • CompTIA (2) • Microsoft (2)

21. Marketing the Program Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website • Course submitted to DESE for WIA funding approvals Met with local Employment and Training staff to promote course to assist them in recruiting efforts Developed marketing campaign for local advertising and online newsletters Began accepting registrations along with DESE Approval Letters

22. Results Summer 2009 (Pilot) 8 week session • 16 Participants • 100% Retention Fall 2009 6 week session • 13 Participants • 100% Retention

23. Q & A Contact Info: Dr. Tom Cupples, tgcupples@stlcc.edu Craig Chott, cchott@stlcc.edu Judy Koenig, jkoenig@stlcc.edu http://www.stlcc.edu/Workforce_Development/Services_for_Dislocated_Workers.html