Sinclair says pipeline for nursing, drone systems being built

Sinclair Community College officials said Tuesday in a meeting with two local state representatives that they are rebuilding pipelines for key jobs in the region, such as nursing, dental hygienists and aviation technicians.

The two state reps, Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) and Andrea White (R-Kettering), represent a significant portion of Montgomery County. They attended a roundtable with Sinclair officials to hear what the college needs to continue its progress on workforce development.

 “We’ve got an emphasis on helping our community colleges, our universities and others access the equipment and programming they need to respond to in-demand jobs,” White said.

 White noted some additions in the recent budget bill to invest in career tech and workforce development, like state grants for the expensive equipment colleges and universities need to train students, and $300 million to career tech schools.

Plummer noted some young people who get college degrees end up leaving Ohio to pursue jobs in Chicago and New York City.

 Sinclair president Steven Johnson touted a statistic during the meeting that 90% of Sinclair students end up staying in Southwest Ohio, which includes Greater Cincinnati.

“Sinclair is a great place to start your career,” Plummer said. “The cost is right. Education is good. We’re looking at what else we can do to help them attract students.”

The roundtable covered multiple topics, including healthcare pipelines, unmanned aerial systems programs and how Sinclair is working with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections.

 Healthcare pipelines

Rena Sebor, dean of the health sciences college, said during the pandemic, some potential nursing students were scared off by the idea of healthcare workers with marks on their faces from N-95 masks worn for 12-hour shifts or by vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.

But she said since masking and vaccine mandates have been relaxed, students have started flocking back to programs like nursing, radiology, assistant physical therapy and dental hygiene.

The nursing program now has a shorter wait to get in than it did before, Sebor said, with students now waiting a semester to get into the nursing program after completing pre-requisites. Previously, potential students may have had to wait years, she said.

“We have taken more students this fall than we ever have before in our healthcare programs,” Sebor said.

Unmanned aerial systems

Sinclair offers several programs working with unmanned aerial systems, more commonly known as drones. That’s due to the proximity of Wright Patterson Air Force Base along with the several airports in the region.

Andrew Shepherd, executive director and chief scientist for the unmanned aerial system program, said the college has seen growth with programs and certificates.

Shepherd said one of the challenges for the program was being able to get into more K-12 schools.

“STEM outreach is key,” Shepherd said. “It’s a ready-made thing for kids to be excited about.”

He said the college is working with the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration on autonomous flying cars, which Shepherd said is “a huge next horizon.”

Plummer said he believed the region needed a new “brand,” now that a lot of the automotive industry had left.

“We have great opportunity there with the base here,” he said, noting the Springfield Airport is also doing well.

Prison education

Sinclair is one of the largest providers of prison education in Ohio and the program has grown exponentially since 2020.

With employers struggling to find workers, more of them are turning to formerly incarcerated individuals who may be able to get education or workforce training while they were in prison.

Cheryl Taylor, who leads the division who works with the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations, said there’s a demand for technology and space in the prison programs.

Taylor said the program could still use more computer technology, though they already have Chromebooks incarcerated people can use to complete schoolwork on a secure server. But she said ODRC is also interested in bringing in additional space to teach inmates.

“What I’m hearing is that we’re willing to take a chance,” Taylor said. “There is going to be some risk. There’s no such thing as no risk at all.”