LCC Becoming Center for Comprehensive Computer Training

Lenoir Community College is committing to the technological needs of a growing community in a big way. With nine fully equipped computer classrooms in the Information Systems Technology Program, training is now able to adapt quickly and comprehensively to provide skills for persons desiring employment in technological environments.

"Labor-intensive industries will continue to have less influence on local employment," according to Bobby Van Brunt, Dean of Business and Industry programs at LCC. "The new worker, to be attractive to industries moving into this region, must be a technologically savvy information worker with a broad range of computer skills. These types of skills allow employees to be more adaptable to the new generation of workplaces that no longer require a worker to repeat the same set of tasks every day. "This new 'knowledge worker' will be much better positioned to compete in an economy that continues to become more service oriented and less manufacturing dependent, not just in Lenoir County but throughout the nation."

The College is now offering computer training in four diverse areas. Information Systems trains students to process, manage, and communicate information and is an ideal program for persons seeking work in systems maintenance/troubleshooting, support and training, and business applications design/implementation.

In the area of Computer Programming, students learn applications in computer concepts, logic, programming languages, operating systems, and data management. The current focus on Visual Basic.Net, Visual C++.Net, Java, and Internet Programming integrates programming skills with Internet based technologies. This is primary training for programmers, analysts, software developers, systems technicians, or information systems managers.

Computer Engineering is a recent addition to the program offerings, now in its second year and experiencing rapid growth. Students receive training in both hardware and software, with an emphasis on operating systems concepts to provide a unified view of computer systems.

The College is proud to be a certified CISCO Academy and the networking aspects of Information Systems and Computer Engineering are taught in the CISCO lab on campus. In addition, programs exist to utilize computer technology for business applications through Electronic Commerce.

"It wasn't long ago e-commerce was a tool providing competitive advantage. Now it's becoming almost a necessity just to compete on an equal basis," Van Brunt said. After coming off the largest enrollment in the school's history, the College is expecting continued strong enrollment for the upcoming Fall Semester.

Pre-Registration for Fall will be July 21-25. For information about registration call 252-527-6223, ext. 606 for programming or networking, or ext. 102 for computer engineering.