Program Trains Business and Industry Coordinators

More than 400 technology center business and industry coordinators, have completed the Business and Industry Services Certification Program (BISCP) during the past 12 years.

Certificates were presented to the current graduating class of 38 new BIS coordinators at the conclusion of the second in the two-part program through the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education on February 15. “The program is designed to prepare new staff from Oklahoma's technology centers for meeting the training and education needs of the state’s businesses and industries,” according to Karen Gutenkauf, adult career and development program consultant at the state CareerTech agency.             Last yearCareerTech’s business and industry training programs had 388,602 enrollments through the state’s technology center system.

Training programs are developed for coordinators working with industry-specific/existing industry, safety, adult and career development, and the Training for Industry Program, for new and expanding business and small business development in Oklahoma. The coordinators who are new to the CareerTech system often come from industry and benefit from this opportunity to cross train and network, said Gutenkauf.

Between the two sessions, each participant is paired with a mentor. Together, they visit business and industry partners and peers across the state to identify training needs and discuss how to fulfill them.

“The CareerTech system has business and industry coordinators across the state who have had their own businesses, are manufacturing plant managers, attorneys, real estate brokers, career specialists and economic development directors,” Gutenkauf said.

They come to our system as experts in such areas as economic development, sales executives, nursing, financial accounting, marketing, business planning and informational systems and total quality management. Through this program, they learn who the experts are in the various areas that they can call on to provide the best service possible for their clients.”

Topics addressed during the first session included CareerTech system orientation, strategic planning, school data reporting, business communications, economic development, programming system marketing and team-building. During the final segment of the training program, participants attended a Program Management Institute, delivered by the Learning Resource Network- LERN- an international non profit educational association offering information and consulting to providers of life long learning. 

Training was also received in the area of Finance and Budgeting, Marketing, Program Development, Needs Analysis, Program Management, Contract Development, Return on Investment as well as how adults learn and how supervise instructors.

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