Another promising career opportunity is at our fingertips in the region thanks to a study unveiled by the Oshkosh Area Economic Development Marketing Group, Economic Growth Advisors, and Northstar Consulting.

The study revealed that the Information Technology (IT) sector will be one of the top priorities in terms of business and economic development in the greater Oshkosh area.

Fox Valley Technical College plays a key role in training IT professionals, and its ongoing commitment to education in this arena will complement the regional initiative. The college is pleased to work with the aforementioned organizations and the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce to address this opportunity.

Here is a brief sampling of why FVTC is renowned for its education and training in the IT field:

• Students from FVTC have earned national first-place finishes in three of the past four years at the annual Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) competitions, which include participation from more than 80 higher educational institutions from across the nation. Many of the other participants represent large four-year universities.

• About 95-100 FVTC students graduate from a total of six IT-related programs each year.

• IT students at FVTC run a Help Desk for other learners, free of charge.

• Annually, FVTC’s IT students donate their skills to help an area non-profit organization address computer and networking-related issues, including most recently the Fox Valley Literacy Council. In addition, they host community workshops that teach basic computer skills and applications.

• FVTC is partnering with the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) to offer classes co-taught by FVTC and OASD instructors. Students will receive credits that can apply toward their future education, and OASD instructors will receive training in order to offer these classes independently.

• FVTC is also partnering with the Wisconsin eSchool Network to offer online classes. This extends FVTC‘s IT classes into three school districts within the college’s district and 17 other school districts in Wisconsin.

• IT student interns at FVTC are currently participating in the college’s statewide project to lead the development of mobile learning applications for students in the Wisconsin Technical College System. The major undertaking is part of a grant on behalf of the United States Department of Labor.