50 Years in the Making: Creating Connections

Drive down any main road today, you likely will see signs posted for job openings. On the surface, it may look good for workers. But those openings often reflect a gap between the skills that businesses need to fill positions and the skills that applicants have.

For 50 years, Linn-Benton Community College has stepped up to provide skills training, from our first programs in welding and nurse’s aide and orderlies, to more than 30 career and technical programs today.

Partnerships play an important role. Pipeline to Jobs is one such partnership, connecting high school students to programs that lead to good, local jobs. LBCC’s newest program, Non-Destructive Test and Evaluation (NDT) is a direct result of that partnership.

The NDT program provides training in the high-tech field of non-destructive testing, or finding potential flaws in parts without destroying them. People with these skills are much sought-after by local industry.

Partnerships also played a part in building LBCC’s Advanced Transportation Technology and Heavy Equipment Diesel training centers, the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest to train technicians on compressed natural gas, liquid natural gas, propane and electric fuel vehicles.

Over the next few months, LBCC will finish work to expand capacity for its welding, machine tool and mechatronics industrial maintenance programs, creating additional opportunity for learning to those we serve.  Find out more at linnbenton.edu/programs.