NEW CONCORDIA — New Concordia Community College has stumbled onto a controversial educational strategy: teaching people something employers are currently paying for.
Registration for the college’s new eight-week warehouse equipment program filled within 36 hours, forcing administrators to add two evening sections.
Students receive forklift instruction, basic inventory training and certifications commonly requested by warehouses throughout the industrial district.
“I spent four years hearing people tell me to follow my passion,” student Marcus Dubois said. “My passion is direct deposit.”
College officials said the program was developed after logistics companies reported difficulty finding trained workers. Tuition assistance has made the course particularly attractive to adults changing careers.
The success has renewed calls for more short-term programs in welding, commercial driving, building maintenance and other trades.
College trustees will discuss expansion this fall. Several students have already offered administrators a useful curriculum suggestion: Ask employers what they need, and teach that.