NorthWest Arkansas Community College to offer certification in trails

If Northwest Arkansas goes to be the “mountain biking capital of the world,” it will want professionals who not solely know all issues bicycles, but in addition learn how to construct and keep trails, Megan Bolinder, dean of workforce and financial improvement at Northwest Arkansas Group School, tells Axios.

What’s taking place: NWACC will develop a certification program for college kids to discover ways to assemble, design and keep trails, together with associated abilities like geographic info techniques (GIS), environmental soil and computed-aided design.

• An $8 million grant from the Walton Household Charitable Help Basis introduced Monday pays for gear and renovation at NWACC for lab and classroom house, in addition to personnel prices for 3 years.
• NWACC will spend the following yr hammering out particulars, in addition to recruiting employees, with plans to launch the primary class of 24 college students in 2024, Bolinder stated.

Particulars: This system will construct upon the varsity’s present bicycle meeting and restore technician program. Upon finishing the bike program, college students may have the choice to take 12 extra hours for a path certification or 40 further hours for a extra superior technical certificates.

• This system might be a part of an affiliate’s diploma program or doubtlessly switch to the College of Arkansas to rely towards a bachelor’s diploma, Bolinder stated. NWACC doesn’t but have an settlement with the U of A.