EDUCATION
Increased Vocational Role Proposed for Junior Orientation, costs, and flexible admission policies of twoyear schools make them suitable for technician training Vocational training by junior colleges may become more respectable if a recommendation by the National Advisory Committee on the Junior College takes effect. The advisory committee, serving at the invitation of the American Association of Junior Colleges (Washington, D.C.), unabashedly recommends that junior colleges reinforce their occupational training programs to prepare young people for technical and semiprofessional jobs. The recommendation comes at a time when the Federal and some local governments and private organizations are looking for ways to increase the number of people having skills which require post-high school training, but that do not call for a college degree. Underlying this activity is the rapidly shrinking number of jobs that can be filled by high school graduates. Present high school vocational training, according to the advisory committee, falls "far short" of meeting manpower requirements of modern business and industry. Junior colleges in the U.S. historically have had a role in vocational training. The principle on which most of them operate is that they provide continuing general education, vocational and semiprofessional training, and opportunities for personal and social development. But the vocational aspects of junior colleges haven't received much emphasis. The general view is that these schools have made higher education more accessible to many people in terms of costs, admissions, and locations. Local and state tax support enable these schools to operate with minimum costs to students. And they are most often within commuting distance of the population they serve. Junior college admission practices are flexible and permit entry of students with varied abilities, interests, and goals. In many localities, junior colleges are viewed mainly as a lowcost way of getting the first two years 36
C & E N J A N . 11, 196 5
Edmund J. Gleazer, Jr. For junior colleges, a function
of a college education out of the way. Changing. The changing labor market has made clear that many of the new jobs that are available today and many that will open in the near future don't require four-year college programs. Instead, the advisory committee notes, the jobs demand a kind of resourcefulness that can be developed in college programs which depart from traditional patterns of higher education. Thus, training must be provided for specific purposes as well as for general or liberal education, says the committee (composed of 15 top-flight businessmen, educators, and public officials). The need for personnel having specialized, post-high school training—in short, technicians—has been analyzed in many quarters. For instance, the National Science Foundation said last year that industry would require more than 1.3 million technicians by 1970 (775,000 technicians were employed in 1960). The Manufacturing Chemists' As-
Dr. Dana B. Hamel For Virginia, an outline
sociation (MCA), as another example, last year estimated that the chemical industry will need from two and a half to three times as many technicians in 10 to 15 years as were employed in 1963 (C&EN, Jan. 13, 1964, page 4 0 ) . MCA concluded, from a survey it made of member companies, that people interested in becoming assistants to industrial research scientists are likely to find increasing opportunities within the chemical industry. The American Chemical Society has also started to look into the chemical technician situation. A shortage of technicians would slow progress in chemistry (C&EN, May 25, 1964, page 5 0 ) , and the ACS has appointed a committee to study the problem. Some states have taken official or quasi official steps toward training technicians. For instance, the State Board of Technical Education in Virginia has announced details of a system of technical colleges to be set up in Virginia communities. The
Colleges
Edward H. Meyer For Connecticut, an awareness
first of such colleges, hopefully, will be in operation by the end of 1965. These colleges will offer courses designed to prepare individuals for "entering into or progressing in employment in industrial and technical occupations," such as engineering, medical and health, agricultural, business, and other fields. Curriculums at these schools will vary from short, special programs for training students in specific skills up to two-year associate degree programs in highly technical and scientific fields, according to Dr. Dana B. Hamel, director of Virginia's Department of Technical Education. Also along state lines, a program will be held later this month jointly by the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Chemical Industry Council of Connecticut, an MCA affiliate. The meeting will be held to help increase awareness of and arouse interest in the opportunities currently existing in that state for technician-type training. According to Edward H. Meyer of
American Cyanamid, chairman of the council's Educational Activities Committee, Connecticut has excellent facilities in its technical institutes. But awareness of what these facilities offer is lacking. Three state technical institutes (at Norwalk, Norwich, and Waterbury) are the only source of competent qualified technicians in the state, Mr. Meyer says. Only the institute at Norwalk has graduated two classes. Norwich is new and has no graduates yet. Waterbury has just opened, but isn't yet able to use its chemical technology training facilities. If all three institutes were to graduate chemical technicians at maximum capacity, 50 people would be available annually. However, Mr. Meyer notes that between now and 1973, an estimated 125 or more new jobs will be available every year to qualified persons in Connecticut's industry. The Federal Government has recently stepped in to aid teachers and administrators in planning chemical technology programs. Last fall (C&EN, Nov. 23, 1964, page 5 0 ) , the U.S. Office of Education issued a guide designed to help develop technician training programs. And since the start of fiscal 1964, federal funds— up to $230 million—are being made available for each of three consecutive fiscal years to assist construction, rehabilitation, or improvement of facilities. Public community colleges and technical institutes may apply for grants of up to 40% of the total cost of a development program, and for loans of up to 75% of the total cost. Well-Suited. But it's the junior colleges that strike some people as making up a particularly well-suited vehicle for training people in the skills required by today's technical industries. According to Edmund J. Gleazer, Jr., executive director of the American Association of Junior Colleges, more than 700 junior colleges are operating in the U.S. The majority of these are publicly funded, and they account for most of the students attending junior colleges in the U.S. The advisory committee concludes that the two-year colleges offer unparalleled promise for expanding educational opportunity by providing comprehensive programs. The programs would include job training as well as traditional liberal arts and general education. i
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Pelargonic Acid _Title_
Name Company. Address— City_
-State-
-Zip-
£mei4j INDUSTRIES, INC. Organic Chemicals Division Dept. 128, Carew Tower* Cincinnati. Ohio 45202 Western Division. Los Angeles Emery Industries (Canada) Ltd., London, Ontario Export Division. Cincinnati
JAN.
11,
1965
C&EN
37
