CSN makes Nevada’s workforce stronger

Mika Martin was 30 and had no work experience when she left an abusive marriage. With two children and no savings, she moved in with her parents and took a position as a receptionist.

"The first job I had after the marriage paid $8 an hour and I realized how hard it was to be going from a stay-at-home mom to having a career. I went down to CSN and I received encouragement. I signed up for classes," said Martin, 34.

She will graduate with a nursing degree this fall. For her, attending the College of Southern Nevada means fulfilling a lifelong dream resurrected when her marriage ended, obtaining a secure job and supporting her children with better pay and benefits. But Martin also is an important figure in Nevada's economic future.

Students like Martin, those who have been laid off and Nevadans that want to retrain for new careers, come to CSN each semester. They leave with skills and training or a certificate or degree that helps them secure jobs in strategic fields that align with statewide economic goals.

Nursing, and more generally the medical field, is one of seven areas the state is looking to bolster to restore growth and jobs, spawn innovation and drive economic diversification. The state's economic development report also encourages focus on Nevada's traditional staples of hospitality and gaming and emphasizes business and information technology, clean energy, manufacturing, logistics and operations, and aerospace and defense. CSN is preparing future employees in each of these sectors.

Tourism, Gaming & Entertainment

CSN's Department of Hospitality Management, home to the only dually accredited gaming school in the nation, offers hundreds of classes in accredited programs, such as hotel management, casino management, travel and tourism, food and beverage management, and culinary and pastry arts.

"As of this fall, we will be offering baking classes at 7 a.m. to noon, 1 to 6 p.m., and 7 p.m. until midnight, seven days a week," said department head chef Tom Rosenberger. "Our instructors include hotel managers, executive chefs, casino managers, food and beverage managers and pastry chefs, a proud group of professionals that understand and teach the meaning, pride and the reality of this work."

Health & Medical Services

The Ralph & Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences offers two Bachelor of Science degrees, 12 associate degrees, 11 certificates of achievement and 15 certificates of completion programs. 

A third of Nevada's nurses trained at CSN, and the entire school of health sciences boasts high licensure completion rates and state-of-the art equipment at the most affordable price in Southern Nevada.

"I'm a caregiver. I love taking care of people. I love making them feel better and I think that's why I am attracted to nursing," Martin said. "So far I love working with children and I love the emergency room."

Business & IT Services

CSN is a participant with the University of Massachusetts in a National Science Foundation Grant. The goal is to develop the IT professional for the 21st century workplace. Programs in computer/Internet/digital forensics, electronic engineering technology, IT hardware, IT management, telecommunications, wireless communications, networking, and software development will be enhanced through the efforts of the grant.

CSN's Business Administration Department is also one of the largest providers of business education in Nevada with more than 4,000 students.

Clean Energy

CSN's Department of Applied Technologies includes training in the latest green technologies as part of its curricula in air conditioning, architectural design and transportation and building technology programs.

In the wake of President Barack Obama's call for a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job, the importance of students such as CSN's Shawn Greene cannot be overlooked.

Greene, a 24-year-old with some college credit, was laid off from his job at a local air conditioning company in the summer of 2011. He enrolled in the brand-new natural gas heat pump program at CSN.

Created with the help of a $250,000 congressional grant and a partnership among CSN, Southwest Gas and IntelliChoice Energy, the courses teach technicians to install and maintain natural gas heat pumps. The units rely mostly upon natural gas to heat and cool large commercial spaces. The technology is new to the United States and uses about 80 percent less electrical energy compared with today's traditional heating and cooling systems.

Greene was hired midfall semester by IntelliChoice Energy, where he now works in research and development. He graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in air conditioning technology this spring.

"I got the confidence and experience I needed at CSN and it opened doors for me," Greene said. "I love my job."

Mining & Manufacturing

CSN is home to the only OSHA Training Institute Education Center in Nevada and provides safety training courses in general industry, construction, disaster site, and mining safety starting this month. CSN's Division of Workforce & Economic Development has partnered with a mining safety expert to bring a premier mining safety training program to mining operations throughout the region.

The college is also offering WorkKeys assessments and the National Career Readiness certification, which is significant to Nevada's manufacturing industry as more employers want to hire individuals that can show on their resume they have high-level reading, applied mathematics and information locating skills. WorkKeys, designed by ACT, is becoming an increasingly popular way for employees, who don't have traditional postsecondary degrees or certificates, to show the skill sets that they have mastered throughout their professional and life experiences.

"The NCR is a certification that means something nationwide," said Rebecca Metty-Burns, DWED executive director. "Credit and noncredit programs are beginning to incorporate it because it means something not just to manufacturing employers but in other industries as well, including health care."

Logistics and Operations

No matter whether it is over-the-road trucking, local delivery, charter bus, heavy equipment, alternative fueled diesel engines or stationary power plants, CSN's Diesel Technology Program faculty are providing students with a state-of-the-art training experience. In the past year, CSN has added new training aides to provide hands-on experience and perform failure analyses to overhaul and repair systems, including a Caterpillar D3 Dozer, eight twin countershaft transmissions and six complete differential assemblies.

There also is a Bobcat Skid Steer, Caterpillar backhoe, class 8 trucks, hydraulic training stations, HVAC training units, a starter and alternator test station and a diesel-powered Caterpillar generator. CSN has eight electrical training boards on their way to the college at the time of press to take students from basic electrical principles to the advanced trouble-shooting required in this field.

"The program will take each student from each component to the complete unit for training and education to make them a valuable asset to Nevada's workforce," said John Ventura, lead instructor of diesel technologies.

Aerospace and Defense

CSN offers programs in aviation technology, electronic engineering technology and emergency management. CSN has also entered an agreement to provide nine credits of course work to Transportation Security Administration employees at McCarran International Airport. The first group of students graduated with a certificate of achievement this spring after taking classes such as introduction to homeland security, intelligence analysis and security management and transportation and border security.