Mark Walton, a member of the Board of Trustees of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and a vice president with Fifth Third Bank, testified recently before the Ohio House Finance & Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education about the important role that community colleges play in workforce development.

 Mark Walton

Walton – himself a Cincinnati State graduate – told committee members that community colleges build strong relationships with the business community and quickly respond to their training needs.

“The nimble nature of community colleges as well as their long history of workforce training has been a shining light to workers and employers during this current economic downturn,” said Walton, who began his banking career as a co-op student at Cincinnati State.  He later earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Cincinnati.  He is currently the Community Reinvestment Act Manager for Greater Cincinnati at Fifth Third Bank.

In part because of his own narrative, he was asked by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges to testify before the Ohio House subcommittee about the connection between job preparation and community colleges.

Walton told members of the subcommittee, which was considering testimony about Gov. John Kasich’s proposed biennial budget as it applies to higher education, that Cincinnati State maintains relationships with more than 800 businesses in Greater Cincinnati.  These businesses serve as a resource for Cincinnati State’s faculty, he said, and also are critical partners in the College’s co-op program.  During the 2009-2010 school year, he noted, Cincinnati State placed more than 2,300 students who earned in excess of $6 million.

“As a result of these co-op experiences, our  educational programs’ alignment with employer needs, and  the quality of our instruction, more than 86% of our graduates are either employed or pursuing further education within three months of matriculating through their programs at Cincinnati State,” Walton testified.  “As a result of these strong co-op experiences more than 85% of employed Cincinnati State graduates are likely to be employed in jobs related to their major within 6 months of graduating.  We call that Real Training for Real Jobs.”

ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE

Cincinnati State offers more than 75 associate degree and 40 certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. About 11,175 students were enrolled in the 2010 Winter Term. Cincinnati State has the largest cooperative education program among two-year colleges in the United States.