Berkshire Community College is located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills and culturally rich environment of western Massachusetts. It was the first of 15 public, non-residential community colleges established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Situated on 180 acres of rolling hills, meadows, and woodlands four miles from downtown Pittsfield, the college and its satellite facility in nearby Great Barrington maintain a staff of approximately 250 and enrollment of 2,600 day and evening students.

With a goal of developing a skilled workforce for the wide variety of employment opportunities in our region, Berkshire Community College provides the tools needed for personal and professional growth.

It is up to you to take advantage of all we have to offer. Whether you're a prospective student or a local employer, with your active participation, BCC will be a rewarding chapter in your personal history.

There is a broad array of career opportunities for those people who are technically inclined, whether in the areas of engineering, automotive, construction technology, information technology, or manufacturing. Having an aptitude for math and science combined with strong interpersonal and communication skills is key to success in these areas. Berkshire Community College provides the path to this success.

A highlight of this pathway is our TECHPATH program of study that links high schools to Berkshire Community College's Engineering and Computer Information Systems Programs with seamless transfer, without loss of credit, to institutions such as RPI, Clarkson, and UMass-Amherst.

The program includes the junior and senior years of high school + 2 years of community college + 2 years at a private or state college or university resulting in a four year degree.

A core curricula of mathematics and science is coupled with specialized training and industry applications. This combination provides students and incumbent workers with the necessary foundation for a high-tech career. The TechPath program enables participants to put their learning to work.

TechPath was developed by area educators working closely with members of local industry including Crane & Company, General Dynamics, Interprint, Mead, GE Plastics, the Berkshire Plastics Network and others.

TechPath Benefits for Participating Students and Workers:

* Opportunity to get on a pathway of lifelong learning with the flexibility to enter and exit the program at different milestones.
* High technology curricula developed to enable students to meet the demands of the rapidly changing workplace.
* Certificate and degree programs geared to specific career opportunities.
* Scholarships, work-based learning internships, and mentoring programs.
* Greater earnings potential and career advancement.
* Berkshire Community College credits during high school.
* An associate degree at BCC. * Transfer opportunities to Clarkson, MCLA, Northeastern, RPI, SUNY, UMASS, Western New England College for a four year degree.

It is easy to get started. Students can obtain applications forms from high school guidance counselors of Berkshire Community College. Incumbent workers can obtain information from their company's human resources department or by calling Julie Hannum at 413-499-4660, x308.

Current TechPath Programs:

* Pre-engineering program
* Workforce development programs
* Specialized core programs in paper technology, plastics technology and machine and computer technology
* Internships * Mentoring
* Berkshire Women on TechPath Project
* Co-operative work-study programs
* Industry sponsored workshops
* Teacher externship programs
* Berkshire Robotics Challenge
* Certificate Programs (earning college credits)
* Associates Degree
* Bachelors Degree

The Business and Industry Development team at Berkshire Community College was created to help you and your business maintain a competitive edge by providing general, industry-specific, and customized training at either BCC or your worksite.

To customize your business training, Berkshire Community College offers technical assistance with needs assessment, tailored course development, consulting and occupational training. On-site training is offered at your place of business or at Berkshire Community College. Industry specific training programs are developed based upon your companies needs. Our approach is to assess, design and help you evaluate the impact of training on your business.

A high tech curriculum that integrates industry specific applications with topics of chemistry, physics, math and computers is available to your company. Experts from industry and academia through a National Science Grant developed this curriculum locally.

The Business Consulting Services provides a broad range of management and information systems consulting services. Our team has extensive industry experience with an emphasis on helping small and medium size businesses improve their performance.

Services include:

* Company Training Needs Estimate and Planning
* Materials Requirements Planning and Inventory Management

For further information contact: William Mulholland Director of Economic Development (413) 499-4660, ext. 217 wmulholl@berkshirecc.edu

Now's the time, BCC is the place to be!

Berkshire Community College is dedicated to providing our students and local businesses the tools needed to succeed.

To learn more about what BCC has to offer, visit our website at www.cc.berkshire.edu

Whether you're an individual looking for a new career, or a company that needs to train its employees, Berkshire Community College is the place to start. In addition to 47 degree and certificate programs, BCC offers the following workforce development opportunities to help your organization perform better, stronger and faster.

BCC has partnered with Development Dimensions International (DDI) to offer proven leadership, workforce, teams, and customer service training.

DDI Advantage

* A robust library of competency-based training courses for leaders, workforce, and customer service providers.
* Training for health care leaders and service providers.
* Used by clients in health care, manufacturing and administrative environments.
* Our award-winning programs, used successfully by companies of all sizes, in multiple languages.
* Flexible configuration: classroom, web-based and blended learning.
* Behavior-based interviewing skills.

Training That Gets Results

Whether it s improved leader or workforce performance or better bottom line results, we can show you how effective our programs are. For success stories, visit www.ddiworld.com/results. Customized Training Solutions BCC delivers customized, affordable training to area businesses that result in measurable operational growth.

* Manufacturing: Lean manufacturing, instrumentation/blueprint reading, Kaizen, SPC, PLC, industry specific training for Paper/Plastics, materials and operations management, AC/DC motors, maintenance, pneumatics, hydraulic and electrical systems, production control, supply chain management, OSHA, waste water management
* Management & Communications: Project management, leadership, Spanish for supervisors, employee training and evaluation, supervisory negotiation, business and technical writing, customer service
* Human Resources: Recruitment and selection, time management, performance appraisals, successful interviewing, diversity
* Entrepreneurship: Writing a business plan, assistance with all marketing aspects and running a small business
* Accounting & Finance: Quickbooks
* Information Systems: CISCO, IT Essentials (A+)
* Skill Building & ESL: Microsoft Office (Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Windows and Word), workplace English as a Second Language, basic mathematics, reading improvement, graphic design

These are just a few solutions. Contact us today to find out more about what we can offer your organization.

For more information about DDI Training and/or BCC s Customized Solutions for your business, contact Denise Johns at 413-236-2125 or via email at djohns@berkshirecc.edu