Printed in:  Maryland Independent  02/17/06

The Official Word
John Reardon

Many economic development initiatives include – or even begin with – partnerships between industry and higher education.  Training programs connected to colleges and universities and conducted in a business environment are a win/win situation for everyone involved:  the educational institution that builds a top-rate program; the businesses who grow and thrive as the result of educational research and workforce training; the workers themselves who develop valuable job skills; and the jurisdictions in which such programs spark the growth of industry clusters. 

The University of Maryland is about to expand its presence in Charles County.  The university is one of the partners in the planned Energetics Technology Center (ETC), which is proposed for a science and technology business park to be developed near Bryans Road in the western part of the county.  The vision is that someday, working in conjunction with the University of Maryland, the College of Southern Maryland, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, the ETC will be the country’s leading source of training for energetics engineers and development of new energetics technologies. 

We also have opened up a dialog with officials at Johns Hopkins University to bring satellite research facilities to Charles County.  Initial conversations have been quite positive, and we hope to have more very soon.  

These kinds of workforce training partnerships with higher education will continue to be a valuable tool for Charles County’s economic development efforts and will help us to recruit and attract primary employers to the county, build clusters, and create high paying jobs. 

 But they’re not new to Charles County. 

The College of Southern Maryland is already leading the way in developing specialized training programs tailored to specific industry needs. 

One such program is the Maryland Center for Environmental Training at the College of Southern Maryland La Plata Campus – more often referred to as MCET.  This operation is a department of CSM’s Corporate and Community Training Institute (CCTI). 

Of course, CCTI is headed up by Alan Kutz, who has been – and we hope will continue to be – connected with the county’s economic development efforts.  He was a member of the former EDC Board of Directors.  CCTI provides training and development programs for business – from work force skills training to top level leadership and management programs.  They’re located in the Business and Industry Building on CSM’s La Plata campus, but as part of the College, CCTI has classes and programs throughout Southern Maryland and even brings training programs into the workplace.   

MCET is also located on the La Plata campus, but they’re not with the rest of the CCTI group.  In fact, MCET is somewhat off the beaten path in a building in the back of the college grounds.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons that so few people even know that they are there.  But more people should know about the accomplishments of MCET, because the work that they’re doing is quite impressive.

MCET is a leader in providing training and technical assistance in environmental, health, and safety issues.  Not just here in Charles County, but throughout the state of Maryland.  They consult with municipalities throughout the state, and their training programs are taught at Community Colleges in a number of counties. 

One of the areas in which MCET specializes is water and wastewater treatment facilities. 

MCET is the state’s designated environmental training center under a contract with the Maryland Department of the Environment.  Chances are that anyone in the state who is training for a professional certification in the field of wastewater management is getting their training through MCET.  The group also consults with communities throughout the state helping them to reach and maintain compliance with safe water regulations.

Another statewide program is MCET’s partnership with the Department of Labor and Licensing Regulations to provide Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) training locally and at five satellite locations in the state. 

CSM, CCTI, and MCET are to be commended for building a program that is recognized statewide – and beyond – for setting the standard in the field of environmental safety and for training this generation of operators in these disciplines.

This is yet another example of Charles County’s success public/private partnerships.

 John Reardon is the Director of the Charles County Economic Development Department.  He can be reached at 301-885-1347 or reardonj@charlescounty.org.