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Navigating Tariffs

Navigating Tariffs

New cutting-edge Centers of Excellence offer hands-on training and pathways to high-demand healthcare jobs

CONTRIBUTED BY DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE has been responding to the workforce needs of state employers for more than 50 years.

To fulfill this mission, the college has continued to renovate its facilities to ensure students have access to state-of-the-art lab space and equipment, so they leave Delaware Tech with the training and skills needed to meet workforce demands.

“Thanks to continued support from Delaware’s General Assembly, governors, and congressional delegation, the college has been able to not only address some critical deferred maintenance issues, but at the same time provide our students with the resources they need to succeed in the workforce,” said Delaware Technical Community College President Mark T. Brainard. “These upgrades have not only provided beautiful spaces in which to learn, but have also equipped students with the ability to gain knowledge and skills using state-of-the-art equipment that prepares them for their careers after college.”

The Allied Health Center of Excellence is the result of a major $22 million renovation of the George Campus’s 25-year-old Southeast Building that enabled the college to expand its paramedic and surgical technology degree programs to the Wilmington campus. Both were previously offered only at the Terry Campus in Dover.

In addition, the 75,000-square-foot Allied Health Center of Excellence serves as a resource for graduates who want to obtain continuing education credits. The renovation also included improvements to the building’s conference center, which now features high-tech audiovisual equipment and a modern space for internal and external events held at the Wilmington campus.

At its Dover campus, the college transformed an existing building into the Highmark Healthcare Center of Excellence, which includes state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, and collaborative spaces in Building 200, highly visible from U.S. 13. Created through the extensive renovation of a nearly 50-year-old building, the 8,700-square-foot facility has been converted into a learning environment for 11 short-term allied health certificate programs. The $2.1 million project was supported by a $1 million contribution from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware’s BluePrints for the Community.

Programs offered through the center are managed by the college’s Division of Workforce Development and Community Education and include certifications for central service technician (sterile processing), medical administrative assistant, clinical medical assistant, EKG technician, hemodialysis technician, certified nursing assistant, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy technician, dental assistant, emergency medical technician, and ophthalmic assistant.

Graduates of these programs will support the state’s healthcare industry by filling some of the highest-demand labor market needs.

“Through the creation of these Centers of Excellence, Delaware Tech is able to train students to succeed in filling critical, high-demand jobs in the state’s healthcare sector,” said Brainard. “With access to the most up-to-date equipment, they leave the college with the skills they need to not only find jobs that will provide for themselves and their families, but which also serve the needs of the state’s employers and their fellow Delawareans.”

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