There’s an opportunity cooking for people who are out of work and/or looking to get into college.

What’s cooking? Riverland Community College is partnering with the Albert Lea and Austin Adult Basic Education programs, as well as Workforce Development, to offer a program which awards Riverland Community College credits, at no cost to the person taking the program.

The Riverland Community College, Austin & Albert Lea ABE/WDI coalition received $109,000 in grant money from FastTRAC. This project is one of 12 around the state geared towards getting more people to succeed in their post-secondary education goals, in effect getting people the training they need to gain available jobs. “The purpose of this grant is to target the unemployed, underemployed or the underskilled, and increase their employability and their ability to increase their earnings,” said Chris Chalmers, Albert Lea area school’s director of Community Education.

Upon completion of this FastTRAC program, participants may enroll in the Production Technology program at Riverland or they can apply their credits to many of the other college programs offered.

Fifteen people will be chosen to take three Riverland courses, free of charge. These people will take courses in technical math, introduction to computers, safety and OSHA, plus college preparation and study skills. Courses will be jointly taught by a Riverland instructor, as well as an Adult Basic Education teacher who can step in to explain difficult concepts and provide additional study help.

These courses are part of the college’s Production Technology One program and can fit into many manufacturing programs offered through Riverland. According to school officials, the courses are designed for people who want to pursue manufacturing jobs, because, in recent years, studies done by WDI have shown manufacturing to be a growing job area in southeast Minnesota. This particular FastTRAC program provides additional in-classroom aid whenever material seems difficult.

The only prerequisites to apply for the program, according to Diane Hill, Albert Lea’s Adult Basic Education coordinator, is having your GED or high school diploma. You will also need to have enough time to dedicate three afternoons a week and be able to take time to study.

“This is available to those who traditionally have not done well in a college setting or may not have tested high enough to get into Riverland (at the time),” Peggy Young, one of Riverland’s training and development coordinators said. “Basically, what they need is a real strong will to be successful in college.”

The manufacturing-focused program was created by grant money from the FastTRAC program, a joint initiative among the state Department of Education, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Courses will start Jan. 3, and continue through June three afternoons a week. The location of the classes will be at either the Albert Lea or the Austin Riverland campus. The first course offered will act as a transition to college course, teaching people good study skills and showing them things like filling out financial aid forms. If transportation to the campus is needed, arrangements may be able to be made.

“It’s a class to help people get ready and set to be successful in college,” said Janice Mino, Austin’s ABE coordinator. “And they can hit the ground running once they can become a registered student.”

School officials hope that once through this program, these participants will want to enroll in one of several manufacturing-related programs at Riverland, or seek other further education programs at another post-secondary institution.

The FastTRAC program will be offered again next fall, thanks to the grant money. Educators will be monitoring each group’s progress as they go through the program, testing participants’ knowledge of basic reading and math skills in the beginning and at the end of the 22-week program to see improvements they’ve made.

Those who wish to participate in the FastTRAC program can sign up by contacting Stacy Edland of the Minnesota Workforce Center at 507-433-0555 or sedland@wfdi.ws. When you call, tell them you more information about FastTRAC.