By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Albany Technical College opens the doors on two new labs to help students experience real world job training before they leave school. The programs are at maximum capacity at a time when enrollment is at a record high at the college.
Better job training while in school, means a better chance of finding a job when they leave. Desks, phones, computers... it looks just like any other office in Corporate USA, but this is a classroom. "It's important for our students so they can get the real experience of working in an office environment," said Mary Richardson.
This brand new Business Administration lab will help students learn the skills that they'll need to know once they graduate and enter the real world. For Kerpasha Davis, that's only a few months away. "People see you first," she said. "They see you first and if they don't get a good impression from you, then they pass judgement on the company, so you want to make sure you have the best customer service possible."
And it goes beyond the traditional office setting. Students in medical assisting are also learning skills from they'll need from the moment a patient walks in an office until they walk out. Cathy Garmon said, "If we can simulate real life environment here at the school, then that takes away that edge of nervousness that students can walk into an externship and they're workforce ready."
Both programs are at the max capacity for students. And both are helping to place people in the workforce when they leave Albany Tech. Albany Tech President, Dr. Anthony Parker said, "That's the bottom line is making our students as employable as possible. We're in business and our purpose is to provide technically educated graduates for this area's employers."
By turning students into employees. So many students were interested in the business administration program, it had to be capped last quarter at 275 students.
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