This motion was seconded and passed. Members were asked to encourage those businesses they contacted to respond. Feedback so far indicates that the need for focused, intensive training appears to be foremost for businesses. Education culminating in a Bachelor's degree or a Masters degree was also high on the list. Some of the larger companies commented that although they spend a lot of money on training their own employees, they have a hard time accessing this training when they need it.
Engineering needs focus around having courses available at night.
These programs are offered during the day with students able to obtain their Associates degrees in two years and have been offered at night for over 20 years. 16 courses are required in order to get an Associate's degree. He explained to members that one of the problems of offering more night classes is that faculty is not interested in teaching at night. The material is so rigorous that it is sometimes difficult to hire people even to work as Adjunct Professors because they work all day. Ultimately, some of the staff may have to come from the private sector in order to support this need.