Anne Arundel Community College will establish a training program in port and cargo management in the Baltimore-Washington region that can be replicated nationally under a $2.1 million President’s Community-Based Job Training Grant from the United States Department of Labor.

The grant allows the college’s Center for Workforce Solutions to train 300 incumbent workers in cargo handling and transportation management as well as to develop a pipeline of new employees, such as displaced workers, Job Corps participants, unemployed individuals, high school students and out-of-school youth.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to develop and deliver much-needed coursework and training for the region's transportation, cargo and logistics industries, as well as to help develop capacity for community colleges all over the country to serve the nation's airports and seaports," said Laura Weidner, executive director of AACC’s Center for Workforce Solutions. "With outstanding partners such as BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, this project has the opportunity to have a significant impact on the industry."

The center is developing new credit and noncredit curricula to create a qualified, credentialed workforce. The six credit courses and five noncredit courses incorporate critical homeland security components for handling hazardous and sensitive cargo in the nation’s seaports and airports.

Upon successful completion, participants enrolled in the credit program will earn a college certificate from the School of Business, Computing and Technical Studies. College credits also can be applied toward an Associate of Arts degree. Core courses include "Introduction to Transportation and Logistics," "Airport and Seaport Operations," "Homeland Security Issues for Airports and Seaports," "Domestic and International Freight Operations," "Supply Chain Management" and "Cargo/Transportation Internship."

The noncredit courses focuses on upgrading skills of the present workforce with courses featuring specialized training, such as hazardous materials transportation, homeland security issues and government packaging regulations. Successful participants will earn a noncredit certificate of completion from AACC. Some of the noncredit training includes "Hazardous Materials Transportation," "Import/Export Broker License Preparation," "Government Specification Packaging Regulations," "Homeland Security Issues in the Air Freight/Cargo Industry" and "Cargo/Warehouse Workplace Safety."

AACC is one of 72 community colleges nationwide that received a President’s Community-Based Job Training Grant out of 429 applications. The grant is an outgrowth of the President’s High-Growth Job Training Initiative that uses strategic partnerships between workforce investment, employers and community colleges to train workers in the skills required to succeed in high-demand industries.

For information, call Laura Weidner at 410-777-2371 or e-mail her at leweidner@aacc.edu

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