Three Northeast Community College ESL students were among nine students who completed about a month of training in plastics at Central Community College.
The students took part in CCC’s new National Science Foundation grant. The main objectives are to recruit, retain, and train second language populations, CCC officials said.
Emily Duncan, Northeast director of Adult Education, said the plastic training is a program only offered at CCC now.
“The benefit is that it prepares students to work in local manufactures who do Plastic Molding,” Duncan said. “It was an opportunity for them to learn a skill to get a job.”
Plastics have become an essential component of modern life, with such objects used daily as cell phones, toothbrushes and cups.
Before receiving the plastic training, the students took an ESL class from Northeast. ESL classes offered at Northeast provide a critical foundation for students wanting to improve their English skills.
The three students took part in intermediate/advanced ESL class that met Monday-Thursday mornings. The students worked on their reading and listening skills through an online learning program.
Through the program, the instructor reinforces their knowledge in academic vocabulary, learning strategies to determine themes, cite details, and summarize text as well also elevate reasoning in persuasive spoken and written text. The skills are taught through eight-week classes using the following Competency areas Consumer Economics, Community Resources, Health, Employment, and Government and Law.
Ultimately, these classes help students open the doors for further education, job training programs, or career advancement. By building language confidence, students are better prepared to succeed in college courses and meet workforce demands.
During June, CCC held a plastics "bootcamp" that ran four days a week, all four weeks of the month. Students completed 100 hours of plastics training, thereby completing the first two classes of the college’s Plastic Engineering Technology certificate.
Besides three students from Norfolk, two were from Grand Island and the rest from the Columbus area.
Plastic training
Three students from Norfolk were among nine students who recently completed a Central Community College “bootcamp” that covered training in the plastics industry. (Courtesy photo)
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