Waynesville Center to offer workforce programs

By Steve Koehler

New technical education programs are coming this spring semester to the Waynesville education center of Ozarks Technical Community College.

The courses in heating refrigeration/air conditioning, graphic design and welding, will be held at the Waynesville Career Center on the campus of Waynesville High School.

“We are beginning to offer technical courses at the Waynesville Career Center which will enable students to gain technical training and college credits without having to travel outside their local area”, said Layton Childress, OTC’s Dean of Technical Education.

The specific classes to be offered including: Introduction to Printing, Basic Refrigeration Theory and Arc Welding.

Laura Hendley, director of the Waynesville Career Center, said there have been numerous requests from adult students for the technical courses. 

“The center has had requests for the programs from people interested in taking the classes. We have established a partnership in our building with OTC to offer these courses,” Hendley said, adding that some students are pursuing an Associate of Arts degree while others are looking for a certificate in a technical field.

Residents can sign up for the evening classes through OTC’s Waynesville Center.

“The general education courses are already being offered at the Waynesville Education Center. This will offer students a great opportunity to obtain a technical certificate or degree which otherwise may not exist,” Childress said.

Childress added that with economic times being what they are,  “I believe this could be the most important period in years for individuals to develop technical skills which will translate into a more productive future for themselves and their community.”

Reaching out to the community with the new courses and resources available at the Career Center “allows us to serve the citizens of southwest Missouri, Pulaski County and Waynesville”, Childress said.

The Career Center, which has been in existence for 40 years, and OTC have offered academic and technical classes in tandem before, Hendley hopes to continue to do so in the future.

“We’re very hopeful of expanding beyond this with additional career and technical education courses. We hope to continue to work toward maximization,” she said.

Shirley Lawler, OTC’s Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, agreed with Hendley.

“They have a beautiful new technical education center that we hope to use in the evenings for automotive, welding, drafting, culinary and other courses,” she said.

For more information about the courses or to register, call (573) 774-5061 or go online to www.otc.edu.

 Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications for Ozarks Technical Community College. Contact him at koehlers@otc.edu.