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HCC Western Center Welding Program Gets Boost

HCC Western Center Welding Program Gets Boost

The new Highland Community College Western Center in Baileyville began offering coursework this summer and has recently received notice that they were awarded funding through a grant from the federal Perkins Reserve Fund to establish the Industrial Welding Program.  Those grant funds are being used to acquire welding equipment for the program. The welding program is scheduled to begin in August and is still accepting full and part time enrollment.

In addition to the Perkins grant funding, the Western Center is part of the Kansas AO-K grant program in the Highland Technical Center in Atchison and welding is one of the focus technical programs in that grant.  The Kansas AO-K – Accelerating Opportunities for Kansas -- concept is to help adults who want to learn the skills necessary to pass the GED and at the same time gain occupational credentials are invited to enroll in one of the AO-K pathways that Highland is offering at the Technical Center in Atchison, and by extension will be available at the Western Center in Baileyville.

The AO-K program is designed for adults who want to improve or enhance their job skills to compete for better paying jobs and welcomes older workers looking for retraining.  Programs vary in length from a semester to two years of full-time attendance.  Students will have an opportunity to earn an industry recognized credential, the Kansas State high school diploma (GED), the WORKReady Certificate from the Kansas State Department of Commerce, will be on the way to attaining an Associate in Applied Science degree, and will gain the skills for high growth/high demand jobs. For more information on these programs, contact Cara Baker, Director of the Highland Western Center, at cbaker@highlandcc.edu or 785.442.6114.

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