Corrections or additions?
Prepared for August 30, 2000 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All
rights reserved.
Rent-a-Computer-Lab From Public Schools
You need to put a dozen people through some special
computer training but you don’t have a place to do it. And you don’t
want to go through the expensive and cumbersome process of renting
a room and bringing in a dozen computers.
Solution: Take advantage of the taxes you are paying to the state
and use one of the computer training centers established by state
grants in the public schools. Mercer County has a 20 work-station
laboratory at the Valley Road headquarters of Princeton Regional
Schools,
and it is now open to the public (609-683-3696;
These Educational Technology Traning Centers (ETTCs) are stocked with
the latest technology and grant-funded by the state education
department
to provide computer training for teachers and administrators in school
districts. They also train personnel from justice and corrections
departments, and special education schools. The ETTC in Middlesex
is located in East Brunswick, and another one is in Somerset.
Dana George started Mercer County’s ETTC in 1997 and —
between
the Witherspoon center and facilities in other schools — trained
500 educators the first year, 1,800 the second year, and 3,000 last
year. "Part of our grant says we are supposed to be self
sufficient
and that we are supposed to be renting out our facilities. The main
grant ends September 30. We are more and more having to rely on
earning
our money," says George. "Anyone can come and take the
classes.
Anyone can come and rent the facilities."
George is a native of Piscataway, where her father had his own
business.
She went to the University of Florida and worked as a reporter for
the Boca Raton News, the Lansing State Journal, and most recently
for the Star Ledger, where she was a technology reporter.
"Teachers will be required as of this November to take 100 hours
of continuing education every five years," says George. These
classes must be taken with a provider registered by the state, and
the Princeton Chamber is registering as a provider. "We are
working with the Princeton Chamber, the state chamber, and the New
Jersey Tech Corps," she says.
Her ETTC also partners with Mercer County Community College on
MercerNet
labs for interactive classrooms and is also entering the webpage
development
business. "My trainers [when not teaching] also provide web page
development. They have done Mercer County Vo-Tech’s web page and are
about to do a web page for a school district," says George.
The ETTC computer lab is much more up to date, she says, than the
one at Princeton High. "We have both PCs and Macs, digital
cameras,
scanners, and a computer projected to a large screen," says
George.
West Windsor-Plainsboro’s school district has installed a new
dual-platform
lab at Grover Middle School.
George has not released the cost-per-hour or the cost-per-course that
the public will pay, but promises the rates will be "very
competitive."
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Visas Yield Training Dollars
Corporations that hire temporary foreign workers must
pay the government $500 per head, and these funds — $3 million
for Middlesex and Mercer counties — are being used to train
American
workers for high technology jobs. The grant will pay to train about
500 people over the next two years.
Under the 1998 American Competitive and Workforce Improvement Act,
the federal labor department collects monies from the H1-B
non-immigrant
visa program and funnels them into the training program.
"Businesses in our area have a great need for highly skilled,
high-tech workers," says Representative Rush Holt
12th Congressional district. "This grant will allow our residents
to fill this shortage in the information technology areas. It will
enable American workers to have the first opportunity to fill these
positions."
Collaborating on this grant proposal were Holt, three chambers of
commerce (Middlesex, Princeton, and Mercer), both county colleges
(Mercer and Middlesex), both Workforce Investment Boards, plus the
Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers. For information call Mercer’s Workforce
Investment
Board at 609-989-6049.
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Sounding Off: WorldCom’s CTO
<B>Fred M. Briggs, chief technology officer of
WorldCom,
will speak on the information network for the 21st century on Tuesday,
September 12, at 8:30 a.m. at PSE&G’s headquarters in Newark for the
New Jersey Technology Council’s CIO Peer Network. Cost: $40. Call
856-787-9700 or go to www.njtc.org.
"The rate of technology change is faster than ever before, and
accelerating beyond anything we have ever encountered," says
Briggs.
"The industry is reshaping itself almost overnight. To survive
in the 21st century, businesses must focus on creating and
implementing
strategies for using new technologies in day-to-day business
operations."
He is responsible for global engineering services, network systems
engineering and development, intelligent services platform, network
architecture and next generation technology, data services engineering
and data architecture. He also oversees wireless engineering,
strategic
accounts engineering, and technical support services for the company,
including its international joint ventures, such as Avantel in Mexico
and Embratel in Brazil. Additionally, Briggs was responsible for
engineering
during the development of the FAA LINCS program and the NASDAQ
network.
Briggs’ formerly was with MCI, most recently as senior vice president
of network services engineering. Sponsors of the meeting include KPMG;
Reed, Smith, Shaw; and the Garibaldi Group.
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Rooftop Networking
Taste your way through the evening, when the
Middlesex
County Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts its eighth annual
"Largest
Networking Party" on the rooftop of the Hyatt-Regency in New
Brunswick
on Tuesday, September 12, from 5 to 9 p.m. Choose your delicacies
from the offerings of 30 area restaurants, while rubbing elbows with
top executives from prominent local companies who could offer your
business a boost.
Networking, the theme of this party, is the secret to increasing
business,
and the Middlesex chamber believes that — with the most important
people from the area’s top companies coming to make some connections
— opportunities are sure to arise. While cutting a deal, enjoy
the smorgasbord of entertainment. The evening will feature live music
by the band, "Anonymous," the Rutgers cheerleading and dance
squads, games, door prizes, goodie bags, and some birthday surprises
for the chamber of commerce’s 90th birthday.
This year title sponsors included Robert Wood Johnson University
Hospital,
Fleet
Bank. Corporate sponsors included
Summit
Bank,
Commerce
Bank,
and PNC Bank
Guests are encouraged to pre-register because only pre-registered
guests appear on "the networking list," which allows guests
to do better networking the evening of the event and follow-up
afterwards.
The cost is $25 before September 7, and $35 at the door. To
pre-register,
call 732-821-1700 or visit www.mcrcc.org.
Top Of Page
Corporate Angels
Eight corporate softball teams played in the 11th Annual
Michael J. Brown Memorial Field of Dreams Softball Classic, and raised
over $7,000 for the treatment of neuromuscular diseases in New Jersey.
The area sponsors were Church and Dwight from Princeton, Computer
Associates from Princeton, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products
from Skillman, and Trenton Tall Cedars
proceeds
benefited the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s work towards a cure
for neuromuscular diseases. The MDA conducts a worldwide research
effort, a nationwide program of medical services, and professional
and public health education.
Christie
Whitman with $1 million for the New Jersey Cultural Trust. This gift
was the first donation towards the trust that hopes to ensure a stable
source of funding in New Jersey for the arts, history, and humanities.
sponsored the Independent Insurance Agents Junior Golf Classic (IIAJC)
on July 17 at the Olde York Country Club in Columbus. On the state
level, the IIANJ state qualifying tournament was sponsored by the
Nottingham Agency
Hightstown,
Merchants Insurance Group,
& Sun Alliance. Sponsored by more than 300,000 members of the
Independent
Insurance Agents of America, the IIAJC began as a community service
project in 1969. Since that time, national and state associations
have sponsored the tournament to serve the needs of the nation’s youth
and communities.
sponsored a student summer work program for construction engineering
and engineering technology students in conjunction with the New Jersey
Institute of Technology. For 12 weeks, qualified students are hired
by a BCA-member contracting firm and paid $250 a week. Each student
also receives a $1,500 educational tuition fellowship, and a $1,500
personal grant. Nine students were selected for this year’s program.
To be eligible, each student had to attain a 2.75 grade point average
and have successfully completed certain math, engineering, design,
and other construction-related courses.
that the state is providing more than $200,000 in grants for job
training
for urban women. The program provides grants to nonprofit agencies
and educational institutions for the implementation of job training
programs and other services to assist unemployed and underemployed
urban women attain the skills necessary to become successful in the
job market. It awarded an $85,000 grant to the New Jersey State
Federation/Colored
Women Club Inc. in Trenton.
Church’s After School Program in Trenton. The program, which operates
from Monday to Friday during the school year, provides Central High
School students assistance with homework, computer instruction, and
courses in African-American and Hispanic culture.
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