Pierce College to Offer Software Info Course

Pierce College is one of the 50 colleges nationwide selected to offer a certification program in database software management.

The program will match college instructors with a software manufacturer to familiarize people with new products and train future information technicians. It was developed by Oracle, a software manufacturer based in Redwood Shores, Calif.

For its participation as one of the program’s founding schools, Pierce will receive a $1-million grant in software, services and technical support.

“This is a win, win, win situation,” said Dudley Campbell, the campus director of the Center for Innovative Studies.

“It helps Oracle as a company by providing a work force for their product,” Campbell said. “It helps students because they get certified training that might earn a pretty good living. And it helps the academic institutions because we can now offer a curriculum we couldn’t normally.”

The program was established to fill what industry leaders predict will be a dearth of college graduates familiar with database software in the coming years.

Campbell said there were 390,000 unfilled information technician positions nationwide last year, and that colleges and universities are not able to fill the gap.

The program materials and curriculum will be used in the regular semester-long schedule using the computer science lab and the faster-paced Extension program using other computer stations on campus.

The Extension classes, which will offer students a more concentrated avenue to becoming certified, are scheduled to begin in the fall, but the regular courses may not start until spring 1999, Campbell said.

In addition to the training, the program will provide a way for students to access up-to-date corporate information and put their resumes online to help match them with potential employers.