(KLZA)-- Efforts of the Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Committee, to have Southeast Community College open a Southeast Nebraska Learning Center in Pawnee, Richardson or Nemaha County were explained to County Commissioners in Pawnee and Richardson Counties last week. Bob Engles, of Auburn, made a presentation to the Pawnee County Commissioners while Jerry Joy and Bill Ely presented information to the Richardson County Commissioners. 

Bob Engles says the effort is to create a larger skilled labor pool for employers in Southeast Nebraska  who are having trouble filling skilled labor positions and holding back potential expansion by the local companies. 

In the past several months, committee members have also approached Southeast Community College officials with the idea, which Engles said has been well received by the SCC Board of Governors and with SCC President Paul Illitch.

Engles says the group he is working with does not have a particular site they want such a program located in, other than the three county area. If a learning center could be located somewhere in an central location of Richardson, Pawnee and Nemaha counties it would allow job creators recruit their workers closer to home. 

While Southeast Community College provides an excellent education for Southeast Nebraska residents, its campus locations in Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford also makes it more probable students will find a job in the Lincoln area. Companies in Lincoln provide internships for the students and in many cases the students are hired by that company before they even graduate, which keeps them from returning to their hometowns. 

Engles says the committee wants to see this idea developed if not this summer, at least by this fall.  He says the issues are already understood so there is no need to study the problem for a year or two to come up with the same conclusion.

Southeast Community College is developing it’s 5-year strategic plan through 2019.  The possibility of four such learning centers in the 15-county area served by Southeast Community College has been discussed. 

While the Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Committee is not working directly with the Falls City EDGE Tri-state Labor Basin Committee on learning center idea, the two groups do discuss their ideas and are not rivals in the effort. Both groups have been given resolutions of support by area County Commissioners, City Councils and School Boards in their efforts.