Rose State College Celebrates National Workforce Development Month Published September 28, 2021 by President Dr. Jeanie Webb

September is National Workforce Development Month and Rose State College wants to shed more light on how our programs and certifications are positively impacting Oklahoma’s workforce. 

At the top of August 2021, roughly 123,000 Oklahomans were receiving unemployment benefits and many were forced to permanently leave the job market due to economic or family circumstances. Now, more than ever, the services and resources available through Rose State and our Oklahoma Works American Job Centers are vital to a strong economic recovery. This includes access to effective workforce education and training programs that support workers in obtaining living wage jobs. 

This September, Rose State hosted virtual events highlighting successful efforts that supported job seekers and employers in building a strong talent pipeline. Rose State also held a number of hiring events, trainings and informational sessions, as well as recognizing the successes of Oklahoma Works alumni to increase awareness of what’s happening in Oklahoma. 

Hopefully, you’ve heard about how Rose State impacts Oklahoma’s aerospace industry through a partnership with our other local institutions and directly with the industry. Rose State offers a unique opportunity for the aerospace industry to prepare engineers from multiple other industries and provide a bridge for their skills and knowledge to transition into the aerospace field. This is crucial given that Oklahoma’s aerospace industry is the state’s second-largest economic engine and happens to be the fastest-growing industry sector. The program is poised to transition those engineers wanting to tackle a less-volatile industry and experience exponential growth within aerospace. 

Rose State also has extensive cybersecurity, environmental and certification programs designed to get Oklahoma’s workforce into high-paying and widely needed positions. 

Through an $880,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, Rose State College is able to build a cybersecurity center and meet workforce demand for more trained cyber experts. The program offers hands-on courses taught by highly trained and experienced professors and features specialties such as Cryptography, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Network Security, Programming/Scripting and more. As part of the center, the nationally recognized PearsonVUE Testing Center allows students to test for various cyber certifications such as the CompTIA Security+, the Comp TIA A+, the CompTIA IT Fundamentals and more directly on campus, creating a sustainable Cyber Security Program at Rose State. 

Rose State College, along with the Tulsa Community College, has parlayed its cybersecurity and aerospace programs into the designation of the first Aerospace and Cybersecurity Center of Workforce Excellence in Oklahoma. 

The Center appointment follows a nearly year-long application process and recognizes past work as well as ongoing work in creating the pipeline of skilled individuals to meet workforce demands. It is estimated Oklahoma will see 3,500 openings each year in Aerospace and Computer-related jobs with strong growth, according to EMSI, for these high-skilled, high-paying jobs for the foreseeable future. 

Learn more about what Rose State College is doing for Oklahoma’s workforce and get access to great resources at https://www.trainingatrose.com/.

According to the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, Workforce Development Professionals Month was created in 2005 by the association to raise awareness about the importance of our industry to a growing national economy.