Officials with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System on Wednesday unveiled major goals they wish to accomplish by 2020, including doubling the number of graduates by 40,000 annually.

The initiative, titled Our Louisiana 2020, aims to “build the workforce for tomorrow,” a promotional pamphlet reads. The plan was approved unanimously Thursday by the LCTCS board of supervisors.

Monty Sullivan, system president, told the American Press editorial board that the economic expansion forecast in Louisiana is unprecedented in the state over the next decade. He said this prompts immediate action by the system to meet workforce needs. The bold agenda, which includes six major goals, has been in the works for about four months.

Other goals: double the earnings of the annual graduating class to $1.5 billion; quadruple student transfers to four-year universities to 10,000 annually; double the number of students served to 325,000 each year; quadruple partnerships with business and industry to 1,000 annually; and double the foundation assets to $50 million.

Neil Aspinwall, president of Sowela Technical Community College, is on board with the overhaul and said Sowela will lead the pack, considering Southwest Louisiana will experience nearly $80 billion worth of capital investments in the next five years.

“On behalf of all of the 13 community colleges, it’s a very ambitious plan, but I think it’s one that the state

of Louisiana, business and industry and workforce development needs if we’re going to meet the thousands of workforce openings,” Aspinwall said. “We have to have a plan like this to meet those workforce needs.”

The combination of these six goals is going to get the state ready for growth, Aspinwall said.

“Workforce development is at our core,” he said about the LCTCS system, established in 1999. “You can’t succeed at workforce development unless you have strong partnerships with business and industry.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman