CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS WITH WORKFORCE NEEDS CONNECT

Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry recently announced that Brian Amkraut, Ph.D. has accepted the vice president and general manager position for workforce credentialing and community impact. He previously served as executive director of the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University.

In this role, Amkraut will oversee a new division of Workforce Credentialing and Community Impact created to meet the expanding need to effectively prepare students of all ages to fill the skills”™ gaps in the labor markets of today and the unknown jobs of tomorrow. This division will be focused on shorter-term certificates for those seeking preparation in very specific workforce needs, whether they be hard skills like cybersecurity, health care, software coding or soft skills like executive leadership or conflict resolution. 

Tim Hall, Mercy College president, said “Currently, in Westchester, jobs are sitting open because employees lack the skills to fill them. Mercy is prepared to fill that gap by connecting with the workforce needs of Westchester County and the tri-state area.

Prior to his role at Case Western Reserve, Amkraut served as provost and professor of Judaic studies and director of distance learning and director of assessment of student learning at Siegal College. He earned his Ph.D. from New York University.

“I firmly believe that meeting the lifelong learning needs of workers throughout their careers is both the greatest challenge and the most exciting opportunity that higher education has confronted in decades”¦,” said Amkraut.