AATYC WorkForce Training Consortium
This “umbrella” workforce training collaborative was formed in 1997 to identify and create business and industry training capabilities and best practices at each college, and to collectively respond to local, regional, or statewide workforce training requests. This is done through sharing resources such as instructional personnel and curriculum.  All 22 Arkansas two-year colleges participate in this consortium.

The WFTC provides training annually to over 53,000 employees and pre-employment workers from over 2,500 businesses and industries (such as advanced manufacturing, transportation and logistics, information technology, aerospace and defense, environmental/sustainable, agri-technologies, construction trades) and other business and community based organizations (such as healthcare, nonprofits, government, utilities, hospitality, education, retail, financial services, public safety).

The two-year colleges voluntarily utilized their own resources to create/expand these high-demand economic development service arenas and, with some later US Department of Labor and National Science Foundation project grants, now employ over 50 full-time trainers/coordinators and 400 part-time trainers employed in business/industry. The WFTC has been nationally recognized for its innovative, collaborative success. It is the foundation model for the development of newer regional, sectoral multi-college training alliances.

For more information on how AATYC can coordinate customized training for your business, please contact Steve Lease at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (479) 424-0071.

WorkForce Training Consortium Member Colleges & Contact Information

AATYC Aerospace Training Consortium

The AATYC Aerospace Training Consortium includes two-year colleges with aerospace related programs such as: Airframe and power-plant (A & P) training; Aircraft refurbishment such as cabinetry, upholstery, and exterior finishes/painting; Space/defense industries; and Manufacturing technologies that are convertible to aerospace/aviation applications.

Each college has manufacturing skills training experience. Two colleges have pilot training certificate/associate degree programs that articulate to the Henderson State University Aviation Technology baccalaureate degree. Two colleges are active trainers in Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA), a preferred aviation design software.

In 2008, one college secured a US Department of Labor (USDOL) aerospace training grant to serve major central Arkansas companies.  In 2009, eight other colleges collaborated with AATYC to receive a shared USDOL grant to provide eight new FAA-certified instructors and specialists, plus new equipment to upgrade and increase stationary and mobile training capacity to meet statewide demands for A & P, composites technology, cabinetry, and upholstery.  

Participating colleges include Arkansas Northeastern College, Arkansas State University-Beebe, Black River Technical College, Mid-South Community College, National Park Community College, North Arkansas College, Ouachita Technical College, Ozarka College, Pulaski Technical College, Rich Mountain Community College, Southeast Arkansas College, Southern Arkansas University Tech, and the UA Community College at Batesville

This Consortium is strongly aligned to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission Aerospace Alliance Initiative and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet.

For more information on how AATYC can coordinate customized aerospace training for your business, please contact Steve Lease at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (479) 424-0071.

AATYC Aerospace Training Consortium Member Colleges & Contact Information

Arkansas Aerospace Alliance

Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium

The Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium (ARNEC) was created to address the chronic shortage of Registered Nurses in the state’s rural areas. Member colleges share faculty and resources.  Interactive television is used to deliver theory instruction, and television and the Internet are used for testing and distribution of class materials.

This program benefits LPNs/LVNs because they don’t have to drive to larger universities for RN courses, and the teaching and clinical schedules are set up to accommodate working nurses. Graduates receive an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Nursing. 

Participating colleges include Arkansas State University-Newport, Black River Technical College, Cossatot Community College of the UA, Ozarka College, Rich Mountain Community College, South Arkansas Community College, the UA Community College at Hope, and the UA Community College at Morrilton.

For more information about the ARNEC, contact Jill Hasley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Arkansas Delta Allied Health Training and Education Initiative

The Arkansas Delta Allied Health Training and Education Initiative formed in 2009 with a US Department of Labor grant.  The five participating colleges include Arkansas Northeastern College, Arkansas State University-Newport, East Arkansas Community College, Mid-South Community College, and Phillips Community College of the UA.

For more information about the Arkansas Delta Allied Health Training & Education Initiative, contact Brenda Holifield at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

AATYC Entrepreneurship Training Consortium

The AATYC Entrepreneurship Training Consortium combines the efforts of two-year colleges to foster economic development through entrepreneurship education.  Ten of the AATYC Entrepreneurship Consortium colleges have collaborated to deliver the same seven courses with common curriculum, textbooks and faculty.  Each course counts towards a Technical Certificate in Business and/or a two-year Business Degree. 

In addition to a “traditional” student approach, entrepreneurship courses are now imbedded in technology programs such as welding, automotive, hospitality/tourism, retail, and cosmetology. Noncredit short courses are also being developed for existing small business owners/employees and dislocated workers that have no time for semester-based instruction.

The ten “common curriculum” colleges are Arkansas State University-Beebe, East Arkansas Community College, North Arkansas College, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, Ouachita Technical College, Pulaski Technical College, Southern Arkansas University Tech, South Arkansas Community College, Southeast Arkansas College, and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

For more information on how AATYC can help you meet your business needs, please contact Steve Lease at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (479) 424-0071.

AATYC Entrepreneurship Training Consortium Member Colleges and Contact Information

National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship

Arkansas Two-Year College Green Technology Consortia

Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy Technology Education
The Arkansas Delta Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration) funded the Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy Technology Education at Phillips Community College of the UA.  The Center provides statewide support for renewable energy programs.  The Center is also supported through a Community-Based Job Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to build capacity at the partner colleges of the Arkansas Delta Training & Education Consortium to teach Renewable Energy Technology programs developed through the Center.

 Building Science Centers of Excellence
Northwest Arkansas Community College and Pulaski Technical College were selected in 2009 to become Building Science Centers of Excellence, through a competitive grant application process of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. These two colleges will develop and/or customize curriculum and deliver training for new energy auditors and various support technicians across Arkansas at their sites as well as the other two-year colleges.

AATYC Heart of Arkansas Regional Training (HART) Consortium
The AATYC Heart of Arkansas Regional Training (HART) Consortium was formed in 2009.  Two-year colleges with central Arkansas service area counties and manufacturing technology skills training have organized to provide new “green” industry training and to inject “green” methods/concepts into existing technical programs.

This developing consortium includes Pulaski Technical College, Arkansas State University-Beebe, Ouachita Technical College, UA Community College at Morrilton, National Park Community College, and Southeast Arkansas College.

Arkansas Energy Sector Partnership NEW in 2010
The Arkansas Energy Sector Partnership (AESP) will provide funding to enable Arkansas workers statewide to be trained in the skills required to succeed in green jobs.  Industries of Focus include: Energy Efficient Building, Construction, and Retrofitting; Renewable Electric Power; and Energy Efficiency Assessment.

AESP will enable the development and deployment of materials and programs that will be used by Arkansas’ 22 two-year colleges and 7 apprenticeship programs to prepare participants for careers in the targeted industries.  The three Energy Centers of Excellence will develop training that can be distributed statewide.  Training activities will include high school concurrent credit programs, college certificate and degree programs, incumbent worker training, apprenticeship programs, workshops for employed workers to gain green skills, and training for disadvantaged populations.

AESP partners include Arkansas Workforce Investment Board, Department of Workforce Services, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges, Arkansas Apprenticeship Coalition, Arkansas State Office of Apprenticeship, Winrock International, Arkansas Department of Career Education, nine Regional Partnership Teams which include all ten Workforce Investment Boards, Non-Profits, and Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy Industries.

For more information on how AATYC can help you meet the “green” technology needs of your business, please contact Steve Lease at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (479) 424-0071.

Additional Resources

Employer Survey

Loreal 2009 Sustainable Development Report

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners

AEDC Energy Office Presentation

Arkansas Energy Sector Partnership Presentation

Arkansas Energy Efficiency Programs

Arkansas Weatherization Assistance Program

North Little Rock Sustainable Energy Actions

Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium
Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC) was officially recognized in 2005 when awarded a $5.9 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to build capacity to deliver automotive and advanced manufacturing training in eastern Arkansas. ADTEC is comprised of Arkansas Northeastern College, Arkansas State University-Newport, East Arkansas Community College, Mid-South Community College, and Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas.

Since its inception, the ADTEC partnership has successfully garnered more than $50 million in external funding to develop curriculum, career pathway programs, and capacity to deliver workforce training in advanced manufacturing, renewable energy technology, transportation/logistics, and allied health, all driven by industry needs and with ongoing input and engagement from industry partners.  The curricula and competency frameworks developed for these programs have been adopted as the official state secondary center curricula.  A student can enter a career pathway as a high school student, a college student after high school graduation, or as an incumbent or dislocated worker.  At any designated exit point, a student can stop out of the program and enter the workforce with a college credential and industry-specific skills.

The newly created ADTEC University Center engages university partners from across the state, who deliver bachelor’s degrees as the capstone of the identified career pathways via distance learning technologies to each ADTEC college.  This is unique in that there are no universities or bachelor’s degrees available to the majority of the Arkansas Delta population, who are mostly place bound and financially unable to leave the area to enroll in a university.

Governor Beebe cites ADTEC as the workforce development model for Arkansas. Additionally, ADTEC has earned national recognition for four consecutive years, most recently identified as a finalist for the 2010 Bellwether Award in the category of Workforce Development. Also in 2009, ADTEC was highlighted as a model program for workforce training in a Workforce Strategy Center report commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  ADTEC was selected as the U.S. Department of Labor 2008 Recognition of Excellence winner in the category Building a Regionally Focused Workforce and received the Southern Growth Policies Board Innovator Award in 2007.

For more information about ADTEC, contact ADTEC Director Pauline Vernon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (870) 733-6792.

The following regional consortia were recently developed, based on the ADTEC model, to promote education and workforce development in their respective service areas.

Central Arkansas Two-Year College Consortium
The Central Arkansas Two-Year College Consortium includes Arkansas State University- Beebe, National Park Community College (Hot Springs), Ouachita Technical College (Malvern), Pulaski Technical College (North Little Rock), Southeast Arkansas College (Pine Bluff), and the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.

North Arkansas Two-Year College Consortium
The North Arkansas Two-Year College Consortium includes Arkansas State University- Mountain Home, Black River Technical College (Pocahontas), NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville), North Arkansas College (Harrison), Ozarka College (Melbourne), and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

Southwest Arkansas Community College Consortium
The Southwest Arkansas Community College Consortium includes Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas (DeQueen), Rich Mountain Community College (Mena), South Arkansas Community College (El Dorado), Southern Arkansas University Tech (East Camden), and the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope.

An Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) is a portable credential based upon the WorkKeys® assessments that demonstrates to employers that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills required for 21st century jobs.  Getting a CRC will allow an individual to show prospective employers that he or she possesses the basic skills they are looking for.

Even if a job seeker has a GED, high school diploma or post secondary degree, the Arkansas CRC further verifies that he/she can handle tasks such as finding information, reading instructions and directions, and working with numbers - that are commonly required in today's workplaces.

Arkansas two-year colleges are proud to partner with the Department of Workforce Services to administer WorkKeys® assessments.  All 22 colleges serve as WorkKeys®/CRC assessment sites.

Click here for more information on the Career Readiness Certificate.

Cisco Academies are located in two-year colleges across Arkansas.  They provide networking and router system certification training, plus a variety of other skills and certificates in personal computer maintenance, cyber security, etc.  These certificates and skills are recruited by all types of industries, healthcare, government, education, utilities, and nonprofit organizations.

Arkansas two-year colleges with Cisco Network Academies include Arkansas State University-Beebe, Arkansas State University Mountain Home, Black River Technical College, Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas, Mid-South Community College, National Park Community College, North Arkansas College, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Ouachita Technical College, Pulaski Technical College, South Arkansas Community College, Southern Arkansas University Tech, and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

Cisco Academies are also located in several high schools and four-year universities across the state.

Cisco Networking Academy
Cisco Networking Academy: Arkansas Profile