It was recently announced via this news release from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette that the College of Engineering and its Office of Professional and Continuing Education are launching a new program, the Continuing Engineering Education Program (CEEP).

The CEEP will serve a leading role in the development of the workforce to support the engineering industry. Because of this, the College of Engineering is committed to advancing technical engineering education opportunities for working professionals without interrupting their full-time jobs. The certification courses will be tailored in order to meet the needs of the engineering industry, and UL Lafayette faculty members, researchers, and industry professionals will be teaching the courses, as all will be experts in their disciplines and fields.

According to the Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Ahmed Khattab, the Continuing Engineering Education Program (CEEP) will have a dedicated focus centered around building partnerships in order to create professional development certification programs and to offer “continuing education courses designed to address industry trends and needs for “upskilling and reskilling of the workforce. The objective will be to provide “workforce training to keep Louisiana employees relevant with rapidly changing technology needs.”

In its curriculum, CEEP will offer a variety of unique training solutions for engineering and engineering technologists. CEEP will offer on-site training, professional certifications, executive education, and industry seminars in addition to the program also offering a wide range of opportunities for training, continuing engineering education, and professional development that is custom-designed for the employer.

For CEEP, the College of Engineering will be providing highly experienced trainers for these exclusive courses and all course offerings will offer the following: continuing education units, professional development hours, industrial certificated, digital badges, and/or micro-credentials for students who successfully complete the testing and/or program requirements.

Dr. Marth Bryant, the Director of the University’s Office of Professional and Continuing Education, commented on the new CEEP by saying, “our partnership with the College of Engineering will offer tremendous opportunities for working professionals to access relevant information easily and conveniently through the Office of Professional and Continuing Education. Whether you are a new professional or have years of experience in your chosen field, the professional training offered through this partnership with the College of Engineering offers unique, high-quality, educational experiences not found elsewhere.”

Dr. Bryant continued by saying, “Through our partnership with the College of Engineering, we will provide professional learning experiences that will reinvest in the community through robust learning opportunities. Professional learning will be designed to energize employee-employer skills management in high-need, targeted areas tied to workforce development.”

A workforce that is STEM-educated is vitally important to national security, as it advances emerging technologies, increases competitiveness, and reduces dependency on foreign countries. As it was previously learned, the more dynamic and innovative engineering firms tend to experience significant problems when it comes to hiring skilled workers. This is because there is a growing emphasis on increasing the tasks that require abstract thought processes, decision-making, teamwork, leadership, innovation skills, etc. Ultimately, this skills gap could affect future economic growth, job creation, and productivity, making this continuing education program all-the-more vital.

Dean Khattab summarized why an evolved perspective would be needed in order to help counteract the lack of skills, increase job creation, and boost productivity. He said, “we created CEEP as part of the vision for the college to offer career pathways and certification opportunities. The College’s role will not end on the stage with diplomas, we will continue to develop workforce training to keep Louisiana employees relevant with rapidly changing technology needs.”

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