Aerospace industry giant Lockheed Martin has selected Estrella Mountain Community College as the educational counterpart of Arizona's only IT apprenticeship model geared toward underrepresented Native American populations. The result of a partnership between Estrella Mountain Community College and Lockheed Martin, the three year apprenticeship focuses not only on preparing Native American teens for careers in information technology with a range of both classroom and paid, on-the-job training, but answering a demand with the industry for qualified, workforce-ready employees to fill the vacancies left behind by retiring Baby Boomers. The inaugural class includes 16 high school juniors from high schools all over the Valley.Lockheed Martin has begun to answer both the demand left by retiring employees and the need to increase Native American access with a three year apprenticeship model. Beginning with a similar model in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, the model offers students access to career and technical education that will both prepare them for and link them to employment within the IT sector. It is one of the only apprenticeship models in the IT industry.At the local level, Lockheed Martin has partnered with Estrella Mountain Community College to provide the structured curriculum and training to supply these teens with a strong foundation in computer sciences. In addition to "soft skills" preparing students for all aspects of the employment world including communication and conflict resolution, students will also receive hands-on training as they learn about the hardware, software, and networking within the aerospace industry. The students?education is paid for by Lockheed Martin, and at the end of the three year program, students will have nearly completed an Associate of Applied Science degree through Estrella Mountain Community College.Together Estrella Mountain and Lockheed Martin will focus their efforts not only on supplying a ready workforce, but in extending new opportunities and increasing access for underrepresented groups in the IT industry, beginning with these 16 Native American teens. In addition, Estrella Mountain is able to assist Lockheed Martin in fulfilling a need for trained, qualified staff.For more information, contact Nicole DeLeon, with Estrella Mountain Community College's Office of Marketing and Public Relations, (623) 935-8056.Estrella Mountain Community College is a Maricopa Community Colleges. Located on Thomas and Dysart Roads in Avondale, Estrella Mountain offers transfer-ready academic courses and job-specific occupational training to residents in the West Valley. Maricopa County Community College District is one of the largest community college districts in the nation and serves more than a quarter million students annually. For more information, visit www.estrellamountain.edu or www.maricopa.edu. For more information about the District's commitment to Arizona's workforce, visit www.maricopa.edu/workforce. # # #
