More Scholarship Money Coming to California Community Colleges this Year

With an unemployment rate of over 10 percent and 34 percent of the population considered “functionally illiterate,” any employment training program that is introduced to the city of Washington, D.C., should be a welcome addition. That must have been Wal-Mart’s philosophy when it announced that the company would partner with the city to launch a three-year, $3 million pilot program to train a new workforce of 2,000 D.C. residents. There is no doubt that Wal-Mart is hoping to gain some goodwill from the city through its efforts, but there are significant benefits to the residents struggling to make ends meet in the town.

New Training at the Local Community College

The new program introduced by Wal-Mart would provide 2,000 D.C. residents with essential retail training to help them land jobs in the industry. In the past, many retail companies have gone outside the city limits – to Maryland and Virginia – to find qualified workers to staff their stores. With this new program, more qualified applicants would be found right in the community, assisting a population with high illiteracy and unemployment rates to improve the standard of living within the city.

This video describes one of Wal-Mart's many community initiatives.

According to an article in the Washington Times, the $3 million contribution by Wal-Mart would be split between the new Community College of the District of Columbia and the Community Foundation for the

Solar energy is a growing technology that may be one of the best options for oil in the future. To answer the call within the solar industry, more community colleges are coming on board to train a new workforce of solar energy technicians. From a new solar energy lab in Maine to programs in solar thermal systems across the country, those who are interested in this exciting, growing field can get the training they need to launch a rewarding career in the solar energy industry.

Solar Technology Lab Opens in Maine

Kennebec Valley Community College has plenty to celebrate this year. The school is opening a new Solar Heating and Cooling Lab in the Muriel P. Frye building on the Fairfield campus, according to a report in the Morning Sentinel. The college was chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009 as one of nine regional resource and training locations nationwide. The Department of Energy partnered with the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education to launch the Solar Instructor Training Network at community colleges across the country.

The Solar Instructor Training Network is designed to prepare trainers for solar technology programs across the country. The trainers that complete the program will then go to various colleges to prepare students for careers in the solar heating and cooling industry. According to a report at WABI TV5, the lab at Kennebec has been in development for more than a year and serves as an example

Millions of adults in this country do not have the training and education necessary to land good jobs with sufficient pay to support their families. At the same time, businesses are unable to find the skilled workers they need to fill their positions and improve their productivity. To provide a solution to both of these national economic issues, Jobs for the Future (JFF) has announced the launch of their latest program, Accelerating Opportunity: A Breaking Through Initiative, which will provide resources to community colleges nationwide to transform the current adult education system. The changes implemented by this initiative will ensure more adults get the necessary training to move into high-paying jobs and provide the skilled workforce companies need to compete in the global marketplace.

In Want of a Workforce

According to a report at CBS Atlanta, over 26 million adults in this country lack a high school diploma today. A small portion of this number enrolls in adult education classes, hoping to get the education necessary to move ahead in today’s workforce. Unfortunately, many students who enroll in adult education programs drop out after just a semester or two without getting their postsecondary credentials to get the better jobs they originally hoped for. Accelerating Opportunity is designed to change the scenario by reinventing the way adult education is delivered and providing the necessary support to help students succeed.

“The number of adults without skills and credentials beyond high school is a national crisis threatening our

In March, President Obama called community colleges, universities and theology schools to come together despite their diverse faiths to make their communities a better place. Since the initial call went out from the White House, more than 240 schools have answered the challenge – a much larger number than the administration originally planned for. This movement has a twofold purpose: first, to cross religious lines and promote religious tolerance for college students across the country. The second purpose is to work together as a community to help those in need and protect the environment. With a growing population of postsecondary institutions jumping on the Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge, it appears that the White House might get its wish on both counts.

This video reports on the White House meeting of the President's Interfaith Community Service Campus Challenge on August 3, 2011.

What is the Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge?

According to a report at WhiteHouse.gov, the Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge serves the ultimate goal of President Obama to emphasize faith and community involvement as a means of building understanding between diverse communities and contributing to the common good. As the President said in his address when he announced this challenge, “For over 200 years, Americans of all faiths have come together, put their shoulders to the wheel of history, and made this country what