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Spring, 2005
 Content: • Filling the work force void
PITTSFIELD This city has changed from an economy reliant on manufacturing to one that is more service-oriented. As a result of this evolution, some working-age people do not have the skills necessary to compete in the new job market. The Mildred Elley School can help fill the gap, school officials say. "We are a career school and our mission is jobs," said Faith A. Takes, president and CEO of the for-profit institution. "Our programs are short and to the point. [People] come here because they are unemployed or underemployed. They need to get ahead and they need to get a career and they don't have two or four years to go to college." Mildred Elley offers more than 80 career courses in accounting, business management, paralegal studies, computer technology, medical studies, general studies and massage therapy at its Pittsfield campus at 505 East St., which opened in 1991. Tuition is between $4,500 and $7,500, depending on the program. Prospective students need either a high school diploma or a certificate from a General Educational Development (GED) high-school equivalency program to apply. Applicants who do not have one of these must pass a standardized test before being considered for acceptance. Recently, the CBS News program "60 Minutes" raised questions about for-profit schools like Mildred Elley. The report alleged that schools owned by the Career Education Corp., a publicly traded company with $1 billion in annual revenues, admit anyone who applies regardless of his or her background. The program also alleged that students who attend for-profit career schools do not receive the appropriate job skills to be hired. "The point that I'd really like to make is the fact that one publicly traded mega-school is under investigation really doesn’t condemn an entire industry," Takes said. "There are 4,500 career schools across the country and we are under very strict guidelines." Graduates of the Pittsfield branch receive one-year certificates. They also can receive credits toward associate degrees, which can be earned at Mildred Elley's main campus in Latham, N.Y., outside of Albany. The school, named after the early 20th century suffragist who founded it, started in Albany in 1917. Skills-bases courses Some of the programs Mildred Elley offers also are available at Berkshire Community College. But Lucy Allarie-Gosselin, vice president and executive director of the Pittsfield branch, said Mildred Elley's courses are shorter, more "skills-based," and don’t contain the additional academic requirements of BCC’s courses. "You come, you train, you go," Allarie-Gosselin said. Mildred Elley at this writing had 150 students enrolled at the Pittsfield campus. Takes said 70 percent of the school's students receive some sort of financial aid, either from the state or federal government. She said 80 percent of the students who earn certificates get jobs, many of them at firms where they have interned. "I think we fill a lot of different voids," said Takes, who has owned Mildred Elley since 1985. "We fill a void for the right-out-of high school student who maybe doesn't want to go for a two-year or four-year degree," she said. "We fill a void for the person who is unemployed who maybe came out of high school and got a 'McJob,’ and then is looking at themselves at 21 or 22 and saying, ‘Wow. I can’t work at Dunkin’ Donuts the rest of my life.’ "We also fill a void, especially in this region, for people who have been put out of work in the transition from manufacturing to the service industry that is taking place -- that whole idea of unemployment that is structural, whereby people are not working because things have changed." Takes said Mildred Elley works closely with Berkshire Works, formerly known as the Berkshire Training and Employment Center.
"We get feedback [from employers], but we'd love even more feedback from the business community," Takes said. "... We could customize a curriculum, develop a curriculum and be up and running. There’s no bureaucracy here. There’s no layers and levels to go through. You’re looking at the bureaucracy right here in this room -- it’s me and Lucy." The average age of students enrolled at Mildred Elley's Pittsfield campus is 30. But Allarie-Gosselin said the local campus is beginning to reach out to a much younger pool of students -- high school dropouts. Both the Pittsfield and North Adams school districts have higher dropout rates than the state average. "We're trying to be out there and to develop other programs that will attract a younger population," Allarie-Gosselin said. Media arts Mildred Elley is developing a media arts program that will include courses in video game design and three-dimensional design animation. Takes said the school is waiting for the media arts program to be accredited by Massachusetts, and hopes to have it up and running by July. "The reason we've done that is because we’re responding to that [younger] generation of student, the high school dropout or high school completer, who has an interest in the media arts," Takes said. "We think that’s a field in the Berkshires that fits with the culture here. The Berkshires are artsy. We’ve got many graphic designers, many people, doing work in this area."
Allarie-Gosselin, who has served on an academic steering committee that included Pittsfield Superintendent of Schools William D. Travis, said Mildred Elley has spoken with the city's School Department about collaborating on programs for Pittsfield High School students who are at-risk academically. The School Department has yet to respond to the idea.  RETURN TO TOP |
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