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WIRED Initiative

Expert Technician Academy

adworksOrganization: Arapahoe/Douglas Works!

Grant Round: Workforce Innovation Grant I

Program’s Objectives: The Expert Technician Academy (ETA) is an industry/workforce/ education partnership to address hard-to-fill skilled employment needs in Aerospace, Energy, IT and Bioscience industries. This collaborative effort between Arapahoe/Douglas Works, Arapahoe Community College, and Douglas County School District created the ETA program to teach both adult and youth learners the technical skills required by the industry partners and to ensure real-world experiences are an integral part of the trainings, resulting in academic credit and/or certifications.

Individuals Served: Since July 2008, the ETA has enrolled over 50 adults who have taken or are in the process of taking over 540 credit hours. These students are also working on their industry-recognized certification exams, such as CompTIA's A+, Net+ and Network Security+ and the Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) certification.

Success Story: A student in the first computer repair class, who worked in the IT industry for years, but lacked formal training and certifications, quickly rose to a leadership role in the class. At first, she helped other students and quickly began leading hands-on workshops outside of the class. Impressed with her technical skills and her ability to teach, she was offered a teaching position and now helps teach students at the ETA.

Quote: “A little training can go a long way for people looking for a new line of work. We are encouraged to have so many adults looking for retraining opportunities in our region. One of the reasons we chose the information technology and an electronics field is they are enabler technologies - they are technologies you need to know in almost any industry."
-- Joe Barela, Division Manager, Araphaoe/Douglas Works!

Collaborators: Jefferson County Workforce Center, Arapahoe Community College, CH2M Hill, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Burt Automotive, Data Inc., Xcel Energy, Comcast, Lockheed Martin, Gambro, Air Methods, Qwest, Sky Ridge Medical, Northup Grumman Corp., Woolpert, Inc., Jones Learning Services, Adam Aircraft; Southeast Business Partnership, Douglas County Educational foundation, Douglas County School District CTE Center, South Metro Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Space Coalition; Colorado Software and Internet Association.