August 2, 2009
The first class of Snead State Community College’s Ready to Work
program will graduate Thursday, Aug. 6, at 3 p.m. in the
auditorium of the Robert B. Aderholt Health Sciences Building on
the Boaz campus.
“The students have worked diligently toward the two nationally
recognized credentials. They’ve sweated thru computer labs,
analytical skills enrichment exercises, and studying for exams
and assessments. The pace was intense; I liken it to taking a
six-class load over the course of a regular semester setting,”
said Ready to Work Program Coordinator Rick Cartagena. “These
students completed the program in four weeks, which is
commendable, taking into account the complexity of the content.”
The Ready to Work program prepares its participants to be career
ready with a free workplace development course that includes
WorkKeys Certification and AIDT training in workplace ethics,
computer training, manufacturing, job search, and problem
solving. Upon completion of the program, participants earn the
Alabama Career Readiness and Alabama Certified Worker
Certificates.
Ready to Work’s workplace environment provides trainees (new &
existing workforce) with skills required for employment with
business and industry throughout the country. It is operated by
the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education Division of
Workforce Development in cooperation with the Alabama Industrial
Development Training. It is taught at 53 sites at 21 colleges,
and there are five modules – job acquisition, computer skills,
problem solving, workplace behavior, and manufacturing and basic
education.
The guest speaker for the graduation ceremony will be A.R. “Rey”
Almodovar, P.E. Mr. Almodovar is a native of Puerto Rico and is
the co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation in Huntsville. The
company provides management, technical and engineering services
to the Department of Defense and the commercial industry. Prior
to the founding of INTUITIVE, Mr. Almodovar enjoyed a 14-year
successful career as a civilian federal employee for the U.S.
Army. His total experience in the Aerospace and Defense Industry
spans over 25 years.
“Mr. Almodovar’s a respected defense contracting official around
the nation. Even with his intense schedule, he jumped at the
opportunity to address our graduates. We’re fortunate to have
someone of his professional stature serve as our first
graduation ceremony speaker,” said Mr. Cartagena.
Under Mr. Almodovar’s leadership, INTUITIVE has grown to a staff
of over 160 professionals that includes expertise in industrial,
mechanical, systems, and electrical engineering, as well as
extensive capabilities in business management, systems analyses,
and programmatic and technical support. In addition to numerous
awards and honors, in 2004, Hispanic Business Magazine ranked
INTUITIVE as the second Fastest Growing Hispanic-Owned Business
in the U.S. Mr. Almodovar has also been named the U.S. Small
Business Administration Small Business Person of the Year and
the Entrepreneur of the Year by the Hispanic Engineer National
Conference.
Ready to Work benefits several areas in the workforce. It
benefits individuals new to the workforce (individuals currently
not in the workforce or about to come of age to enter the
workforce), the transitional workforce (dislocated workers,
unemployed and obsolete skills sets), the emerging workforce
(recent high school graduates, those pursuing or have obtained
their GED, technical and community college graduates and
part-time workers), and the current workforce (employed,
underemployed, employed but needing training to be competitive
and/or to move to higher paying, higher-skilled jobs, and those
currently outside the region with the intent to relocate in
mind). Ready to Work also benefits corporations by expediting
recruiting, documenting skills, documenting attendance and
punctuality, reducing training and costs, and by increasing
retention and reducing turnover.
“The Ready to Work initiative is a vital addition to the
Workforce Development program. Participants are learning
practical skills that will help them find success in the
workplace, and with the uncertain economic times, possessing
these skills will put them at an advantage in their respective
job searches. We are proud that Snead State played a role in
their achievements,” said Snead State President Dr. Robert Exley.
