SUNY Ulster was selected as one of the newest community college partners in IBM’s New Collar Jobs Initiative. The initiative, dedicated to building critical skills to meet ever-evolving technological trends, will help propel Ulster students into apprenticeship opportunities and new well-paying jobs.
Coined by IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, new collar jobs are somewhere in the middle between professional careers (white collar) and trade work (blue collar) – meaning they combine technical skills with a knowledge base rooted in higher education.
This partnership represents a new approach to educational training and job recruitment arising from the shortage of workers tech companies are experiencing to fill their growing number of positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were approximately 6 million job openings at the end of June 2017, with many of these unfilled as a result of an unskilled and under-skilled workforce.
“SUNY Ulster is proud to be partners with IBM in defining and preparing the new technology workforce of our future,” notes SUNY Ulster President Dr. Alan P. Roberts. “Students are being navigated through our high-ranking computer science program and then placed in an incredible apprenticeship opportunity. We are fortunate to leverage this partnership between industry and higher education to benefit our students’ success.”
John Sheehan, Coordinator of SUNY Ulster’s Computer Science program adds, “We’re very excited to partner with IBM to provide innovative new technology education programs to prepare our students for the skills needed to meet the high demand for new collar workers. Through these apprenticeships and specialized programs in computer science, engineering, and computer networking, we will be better positioned to help our graduates obtain high paying careers while also supporting the long-standing role of the Hudson Valley as a place where IBM fosters cutting-edge technological innovation.”
Professor Sheehan has taken a leadership role in designing the SUNY Ulster Computer Science program which is offered both on campus and online. The online program recently was ranked by Computer Science Zone as #3 nationally for Online Associate Degrees in Computer Science. Great Value Colleges also named SUNY Ulster #8 in their Top Ten Online associate degrees in computer science nationally. SUNY Ulster is the only college within New York State to be listed.
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