Work While You Learn!

Work-Based-Learning

As part of the career-technical A.A.S. degree requirements, students register for and complete the Cooperative Education course (ADM 150/151/152).  NACC offers specific work-based learning opportunities to our career technical students.  Work-based learning is an excellent way for students to gain work experience while completing their degree.     

Student Benefit:

Students can gain hands-on experience through work-based learning while still attending classes at the college.  With the assistance of the Work Experience Coordinator, the student is employed by a business & industry partner prior to graduating. 

Business & Industry Benefit:

By partnering with the college, businesses and industry may hire students studying in that field.  This allows the employer to provide customized training and creates a clear pathway to career development.  Business & Industry have the opportunity to present to career technical students through various on-campus events.  Students gain knowledge about the job opportunities that are available to them.

Work-Based-Learning Options

There are several options for On-the-Job learning. 

Cooperative Education (Co-Op) is paid employment at a work site focused on gaining work experience. A key distinction from other types of WBL is that not every Co-Op placement is tied to the student's field of study. Successful Co-Op implementations are built on flexible scheduling models established between the employer and the school. Co-op positions often lead to full-time, permanent offers once the student graduates.

On-the-Job Learning (OJL) is paid work experience that is directly linked to the technical instruction the student is receiving. It must involve structured, supervised work experience, and it often results in long-term employment with the company. The critical defining characteristic of OJL is the connection between academic study and real-world learning experience. This connection sets OJL apart as a more specifically career-focused activity than a general Co-Op placement. Participants in OJL are not only seeking work experience and gaining employability skills, but they are also learning the technical skills necessary for the career they are pursuing

Cooperative Education course (ADM 150/151/152) are tied to this kind of workbased learning

Apprenticeships are a business-driven model that provides an effective way for employers to recruit, train, and retain highly skilled workers. Registered apprenticeship is a proven model of job preparation that combines paid on-the-job learning with related instruction to progressively increase workers’ skill levels and wages. Registered apprenticeships are unlike regular training models developed by education and delivered to employers. Instead, they are developed by employers and supported by education providers.

AOA Registered Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships are esteemed opportunities.
Apprenticeships offer participants the opportunity to earn money while they learn in a non-traditional classroom setting. The earn-and-learn model provides apprentices with an opportunity to see a direct relation between their increasing skills and increasing wages. Apprenticeship programs are one of the most effective ways to reach our labor force participation and attainment goals and to ensure that Alabamians are on career pathways leading to economic mobility and self-sufficiency.

5 Components of a Registered Apprenticeship

1. Business driven
2. On-the-job-training
3. Related technical instruction
4. Progressive wages
5. Nationally recognized credentials

An apprenticeship is a form of work-based learning that provides formal, on-the-job training and classroom instruction.

Employers can find out more about how to be part of this program by visiting the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship website.

Michael Bridier
Region 1 Project Manager, Alabama Office of Apprenticeship
(256) 321-4794 Email me

We partner with businesses throughout northeast Alabama to make these opportunities available to our students. If your company would like to be a part of this program, please contact Dean Barbara Kilgore at kilgoreb@nacc.edu.

Business & Industry Training

The Workforce Development Department at NACC partners with Business & Industry to create customized training packages to upskill current employees.  Business & Industry training can be offered on a convenient day/time, depending on the instructor's availability.  Training can be offered one to two days a week, during the day or in the evening, for a duration of 40 contact hours. 

The following courses have been provided to our Business & Industry employees:

1. Mechanical Maintenance Training (6 courses)
2. Electrical Maintenance Training (5 courses)
3. Electrical Safety Training 
4. Fundamental Print Reading (3 Levels)
5. OSHA 10 & 30
6. Microsoft 365 Excel Training

Contact Charman Hancock at hancockc@nacc.edu for more information.

“Northeast Alabama Community College is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDC) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. “

Workforce Development Events

Stay up to date with events we host each year.

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