Tri-C Dedicates KeyBank Public Safety Training Center

PARMA, Ohio, June 20, 2016 /3BL Media/ — Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) today dedicated the KeyBank Public Safety Training Center in recognition of KeyBank’s generous support of first responder training programs.

The dedication celebrates a $1.4 million grant from the KeyBank Foundation to enhance and expand the College’s public safety education and training programs. More than 200 people attended the ceremony at the center, located at Western Campus in Parma.

“This partnership between KeyBank and Cuyahoga Community College provides building blocks to create safer streets, safer neighborhoods and a safer community,” said Alex Johnson, president of Tri-C. “We are proud to be united in this vital effort.”

The KeyBank grant — awarded earlier this year — supports training for students pursuing careers as law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics and other in-demand public safety occupations in Northeast Ohio.

The initiative includes a campaign to recruit minority and female candidates for first responder jobs, as well as outreach programs to U.S. military veterans, scholarship opportunities and the creation of a youth-focused Summer Academy taking place this week.

Police, fire and paramedic students working toward College degrees and certificates attended the ceremony, as did high school students attending the Summer Academy.

“KeyBank and KeyBank Foundation made this investment at Cuyahoga Community College to train this next generation of first responders,” said Margot Copeland, chair and CEO of the KeyBank Foundation. “These are the faces that will protect the residents of Northeast Ohio far into the future.”

Employment projections for Northeast Ohio show a critical need for protective service personnel, with nearly 1,500 job openings expected each year through 2022. Much of the need is based on replacing retiring workers, particularly in law enforcement.

The goal under the grant is to increase the annual number of graduates from Tri-C’s Public Safety Training Center by 35 percent over the four-year period. Larger increases are targeted for minorities (54 percent) and women (97 percent).

To better connect these public safety graduates with employers, Tri-C intends to create an outreach specialist position to oversee student, employer and community engagement.

Tri-C opened its new Public Safety Training Center at Western Campus in Parma in 2014. The regional center offers specialized training opportunities for police, fire and emergency medical technicians.

Located on a 10-acre site in Parma and Parma Heights, the center includes top-level training tools such as a two-story burn building, an indoor shooting range, a paved area to learn driving techniques and an above-ground trench training area to practice confined space rescues.

The KeyBank Foundation has been a long-term partner of Tri-C and made a lasting impact on the region through workforce initiatives and scholarship programs providing opportunities for thousands of community members.