Montgomery College

Much of Maryland’s workforce pipeline starts at local two- and four-year colleges and with the help of federal grants, students at Montgomery College will be able to get a solid head start on their IT careers. Alton Henley, Senior Program Director at Montgomery College, met with the Maryland Tech Council (MTC) to explain the new program they are developing with funds from the America’s Promise Grant—an outgrowth of the TAACCCT grant.

MTC is a partner with employers, community organizations, and community colleges across the state, including Montgomery College, in Cyber-Technology Pathways Across Maryland (CPAM). CPAM intends, over the next four years of the grant and beyond, to build a pipeline of skilled cyber security workers who will attain certifications, associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, work-based learning opportunities, and, ultimately, good jobs in technology and cyber security.  

Give us an overview of the America’s Promise grant.

America’s Promise grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to 23 regional workforce partnerships in 28 states. These grants are designed to develop and expand workforce partnerships to provide a pipeline of skilled workers in industries such as information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and educational services.

The state of Maryland received $5.63 million to be used over four years and this money is divided among Montgomery College, Frederick Community College, and Prince George’s Community College. The three schools combined have promised to serve 1,070 students, and Montgomery College will be educating 700 of those students.

It sounds like the America’s Promise grant is similar to the TAACCCT grant.

The America’s Promise grant is an outgrowth of the TAACCCT grant. Money from the TAACCCT grant is used to prepare students for employment in high-wage, high-skill occupations by using innovative strategies and methods for delivering instruction. The program that Montgomery College built from TAACCT funds is focused primarily on cybersecurity, and it is called CyberAdvantage. It is a formal, two-semester program that focuses on desktop, network, and application security. The goal is to help students understand the fundamentals of cybersecurity with the goal of preparing to obtain two baseline industry certifications. We also help them write resumes, and we conduct mock interviews and guide them to career opportunities.

Tell us about the program being developed at Montgomery College specifically under the America’s Promise grant. 

The money from the America’s Promise grant will be used for a new program that is designed to help students top off, if you will, their programming skills. Whereas the CyberAdvantage program introduces students to a field within IT, this new program will help students get additional training in skills that they have already learned. For example, some students may have training in theory, but they don’t have the tools. We offer the technical tools, like training on how to write a complete application in Java. It’s this type of hands-on experience that companies are looking for. Our program is akin to a bootcamp that will help students finish their journey in a way that directly prepares them for the work world. We’re trying to stem the tide of having students enroll in one of the expensive bootcamps that charge up to $16,000 for three months of training.

The program will be built upon the knowledge and experience that we have in this area. Infosys is one of our partners, and we have conducted this type of training before. Also, I’ve been a developer for 39 years having first learned in a programming class that my mother, a former employee at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), taught when I was 9 years old. Suffice it to say that we know what works.

What do prospective students need to know about the program?

First, students must have, or be within one semester of obtaining a four-year degree and they must also participate in pre-work, which is an online class that sets a baseline for capability. From those students, we will choose who we think will be successful and benefit most from the program.

This is an in-person program, and the first class will start on May 22. Students will be in the classroom for eight hours a day for eight weeks at the Gaithersburg Business Training Center. It will be like working on the job, and in the end, it almost equates to having a minor in Java. Students will learn how to write, fix, change, and complete their work and they will be given constructive feedback. The program addresses the Oracle certification in Java which is a stackable entry-level certification. We like to say that this program is purposeful practice through self-direction.

How can readers get more information on this program or other IT programs at Montgomery College?

They can contact me at alton.henley@montgomerycollege.edu or at 240.567.3826.