College's Career Starters kick-start job training

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The College of Southern Maryland is hosting four Career Starters program open houses 4 to 6 p.m. at its campus in La Plata Aug. 3, Leonardtown Aug. 5 and Prince Frederick Aug. 10. The events will introduce noncredit intensive job training courses. CSM also will host an open house for the Center for Trades and Energy Training in Waldorf 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 12 to introduce construction noncredit training for people who are interested in carpentry, welding, electrical, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning careers.

Susan Ross, senior director for workforce development at CSM, said that interest in the classes is "very high. We had quite the surge in enrollment. We have a product, if you will, that had not been there before. We realized that a large percentage of the population down here do[es] not have degrees. This is a time a lot of people are dealing with having to change careers due to the economy, and a lot of high school students do not go on to college."

The courses will qualify a student for an entry-level position in a number of fields. Some of the most popular programs train participants to become certified nursing assistants, computer repair technicians, certified welders, HVAC technicians and veterinary assistants, Ross said. Apprenticeship and master-level training are also available at the college.

Guests at the open houses will be able to enter a drawing for a scholarship for the fall 2010 semester, with one scholarship to be awarded at each of the four open houses. Ross also suggested that students visit the region's "one-stop" employment centers, run by Southern Maryland Workforce Services, because grant money is available to pay tuitions.

During the open houses, prospective students will have an opportunity to meet with a program coordinator and instructors from each career field, learn the location and schedule of classes for individual training programs, learn about financing options and register for classes, the release stated.

The Center for Trades and Energy Training at 17 Irongate Drive in Waldorf will offer courses in construction-related trades, while all other training classes will be offered at the three main CSM campuses.

Those open houses will be held at the Center for Business and Industry in Room 113 at the La Plata campus at 8730 Mitchell Road; at the A building auditorium in Leonardtown; and in Room 119 at the Prince Frederick campus.

For more information, go to www.csmd.edu/CareerStarters or call 301-934-7765 or 301-870-2309.

Homan is new executive director of energetics center

Joseph V. Homan recently joined the Energetics Technology Center in La Plata as executive director.

He will serve as a member of the executive management team focused on improving ETC and be responsible for supporting and expanding efforts in energetic informatics, information technology and virtual reality.

"Dr. Homan's credentials are impressive and he is a welcomed addition to the company," said retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Tom Donaldson, president of ETC, according to a news release. "Dr. Homan will assist us in growing our modeling and simulation capabilities and efforts."

Homan has spent more than 25 years as a consultant to organizations related to the military and has managed technical projects and programs in software development, database management and simulation modeling, primarily helping federal government clients with electronic commerce, logistics and supply chain management, according to the release.

He also has 15 years of experience managing technical projects for for-profit companies and 10 years in nonprofit organizations. In addition to managing projects, he has taught project management courses in industry and at the undergraduate level.

Homan holds a bachelor's degree in geology from Miami University, a master's degree in business administration in logistics management from Wright State University, and a master's degree in engineering management from Robert Morris University. He recently earned a doctorate in information systems and communications from the same institution.

ETC is a private, nonprofit organization based in La Plata, focused on energetics technology and related efforts.

Catholic Business Association to hold baseball fundraiser

The Catholic Business Association of Charles County is selling tickets to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs game 7:05 p.m. July 23.

Tickets cost $10 and must be bought in advance. Go to www.somdbluecrabs.com, click "fun-raisers" and enter the code "CBA"; e-mail cbaofcharlescounty@gmail.com; or call Tom Agostinelli at 240-464-1438.

If ordering by e-mail, include a name, phone number and the quantity of tickets desired.

The group also will meet 8 a.m. July 9 at the Southern Maryland Business Center at 3195 Old Washington Road in Waldorf. Call 240-464-1438 for more information.

emitrano@somdnews.com