Howard Community College

Howard Community College (HCC), located in Columbia, Maryland, is in one of the world's principal areas for cybersecurity and information technology (IT). HCC has been a regional and national pioneer of cybersecurity and IT programs with the 2002 formation of its information security program, the 2014 formation of its early college cybersecurity program, and the 2020 formation of its IT apprenticeship program. With funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s STEM Talent Challenge, HCC will scale its work-and-learn programs to new audiences of employers and trainees, including underrepresented and underemployed populations, as well as high school students in Howard County.

The college will provide entrepreneurial consulting free-of-charge to small-to-medium sized IT businesses that have been impacted by the transition to telework caused by COVID-19. These businesses will agree to employ at least one person from one of the work-learn models.

Customized training packages leading to various cybersecurity and cloud computing certifications will be provided to apprentices, interns, and incumbent workers. Through the funding of a technical bench, HCC will build systemic relationships with companies to expand internship and apprenticeship opportunities for its students.

As a result of these programs, HCC expects to form sustainable partnerships that will result in approximately 100 participants in work-and-learn programs over the grant's two-year course. On a broader scale, the college anticipates that the models it develops will be duplicated at other community colleges and will further enhance the synergy between community colleges and industry in the Mid-Atlantic region.