Vegas PBS Expands Workforce Development Initiative with Key Partnerships

By Debbie Hall

Contributing Writer

Photo by Robert Macabagdal

In the Photo: From left, Ronna Timpa, founder and president, Workplace ESL Solutions;Andrea Gibbins, executive director of Area Health Education Center; Lawrence Sands, DO, MPH, Chief Health Officer, Southern Nevada Health District; Debra Solt, Vegas PBS Workforce and Economic Development director and Terri Janison, regional director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development are part of the panel as Tom Axtell, Vegas PBS general manager, discusses the specific steps being taken with each organization to create workforce training and education opportunities.

Vegas PBS announced Feb. 22 that it will use its online and digital assets, Vegas Virtual Online Education, and partner with statewide organizations to provide education and training that will help Nevadans find employment and transition into new careers.

According to Tom Axtell, Vegas PBS general manager, the Feb. 22 launch after 18 months of work will provide, “an incredible tool that will be used by a great number of people.”

Axtell spoke of Vegas PBS beginning in 1968 in the vocational school located in Henderson, Nev. “There were two classrooms in the school and our responsibility was to provide broadcast education which at the time was the most modern technology that existed.” Over the air television was used to teach math courses, world history, art and foreign languages as well as General Equivalency Degree courses so that adults could obtain a high school diploma.

In 2010, Vegas PBS management identified the number one issue facing Nevadans was unemployment. “We had a tremendous number of people who had lost their jobs since the economy changed,” Axtell said. “As we looked forward, this wasn’t a typical little bump. … It looked like we were facing a permanent loss of jobs in entire sectors and that tens of thousands of people would need to acquire new skills or be permanently unemployed.”

Terri Janison, regional director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, representing Gov. Brian Sandoval, spoke about the Governor’s economic recovery plan to add 50,000 jobs to the state by 2014. “We need to do this in partnership with everyone in the state of Nevada (including) private, public, parents, and the students. Everyone needs to be a part of making sure we get back on track and move Nevada forward again.”

Debra Solt, Vegas PBS Workforce and Economic Development Director, has been part of online education since its inception and was one of the first people in the country to develop an entire online degree program in another state.

“We are very fortunate to have develop partnerships with other vendors for very robust and instructor led programs and courses for the just-in-time learning many of our adults need,” Solt said.

Some of the partnerships include Southern Nevada Health District with an agreement to provide a custom, web portal for Food Handler Safety Training, a requirement for the food handler permit issued by the district. This includes renewals as well as new permits needed by the more than 300,000 culinary workers in Clark County. One big advantage is that workers can complete the requirements outside of business hours. The pilot program will be launched March 1 with the full launch anticipated for July 1.

The High Sierra Area Health Education Center will develop a custom-branded web portal to provide continuing education training courses and programs for healthcare professionals throughout Nevada in order to maintain and/or upgrade their certifications and licenses.

Another partner, Ronna Timpa’s Hotel English Online with Ronna Timpa, founder and president of Workplace ESL Solutions, will co-develop and offer a customized online workshop program tailored specifically for employees in the hospitality industry. With the ability to communicate with customers, other staff members and supervisors, workers able to speak basic English will have another skill set as being bi-lingual and have the opportunity to transition to other careers and industries.

Other partners include:

• Clark County School District
• Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow
• GNJ Family Life Center
• Goodwill Career Connections
• Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce
• Moapa Band of Paiutes vocation Rehabilitation
• National Healthcare Association
• Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation
• Nevada Industry Excellence
• Nevada JobConnect
• Nevada Partners
• Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority
• Urban League of Nevada
• Workforce Connections

For more information on programming and services, visit www.VegasPBS.org.

Debbie Hall

Debbie Hall has called Las Vegas home for over 33 years and participates as a writer, broadcaster and teacher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the host of “Dining with Debbie” radio show and writes for a number of publications as well as remaining active in networking and public speaking . Debbie volunteers her time and talent to a number of nonprofit organizations and supports a variety of causes.