New technologies are created almost every day to provide solutions that make individuals more productive and help businesses grow. The demand for workers with job-ready skills grows every day. But the supply of certified workers with the necessary skills isn't keeping pace. Ready for a change?

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana can help! Training and certification is available for Microsoft, data management and messaging, networking, operating systems, web development and programming, PC management and maintenance and others. Employers recognize that certified individuals have the skills and core competencies necessary to excel in their chosen profession. In today's economy, many of the leading IT companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Novell and others have developed training and testing programs that evaluate and certify skills of those who use their products or provide their services.

To meet the growing demand for technology workers in Indiana, Ivy Tech State College has opened Workforce Certification Centers at several campuses around the state, including its Columbus campus.

These centers serve as the College's focal point for certification training and testing. Resources available at the Center will enable Indiana residents to earn industry-recognized workforce certifications that will give them job-ready competencies that are valued throughout the state, the country and the world.

These certifications are valuable economic credentials that validate an individual¹s knowledge and provide a means for employers to assess the real-world technical skills of the prospective employee.

Through a centrally located state center, statewide regional centers and the regional center in Columbus, the College offers skill assessment, workforce certification training and certification services as well as prior learning assessment.

Prospective certification candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds and may include recent high school graduates, job seekers, job changers, students enrolled in other post- secondary education programs and college graduates.

Specifically, the mission of the Workforce Certification Center at Ivy Tech Community College is to:

• Provide access to high-wage, high-demand training, testing and certification.
• Evaluate, select and implement certification programs needed in Indiana's workplaces.
• Coordinate assessment of prior learning activities for potential students and awarding appropriate college credit for prior learning.
• Expand access to certification via distance education courses.
• Provide ongoing training and continuing education opportunities to faculty, staff, and students.

Download a Center for Lifelong Learning schedule in Adobe Acrobat. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat, you may download a free version at Adobe's web site.