Rosedale Technical College, Pennsylvania

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rosedale Technical College offers hands-on technical training to provide its students with the necessary experience required for their field. Rosedale Technical College joined the NC3 Network in 2010 and became an NC3 Leadership School in 2017. Their Automotive and Diesel Programs have since grown in their number of issued certifications by over 1000%! We were fortunate to speak with Dennis Wilke, President of Rosedale Technical College, to learn more about their successful CTE program.

Rosedale Technical College’s Automotive and Diesel Program allows students the opportunity to earn 16 different Snap-on Certifications! 

Dennis explains the benefits of providing industry-recognized technical certifications by stating, “The most important part of NC3 certifications is in employers recognizing the benefits they provide to the students they might hire. In the case of Snap-on, those certifications are recognized throughout the country and certainly heavily in our area.” 

The professional world is not only supporting industry-recognized certifications, but also the impact of career and technical education on our nation’s industries, especially in recent years. Dennis continues, 

There remains somewhat of a stigma of the blue-collar trades maybe being a lesser career, but we’ve certainly seen significant changes in that ideology. I have noticed over the past couple of years that employers are much more willing to pay higher salaries, participate in tuition reimbursement, and scholarship opportunities for our students. When we spread the message of those kinds of opportunities, parents realize that not only is the cost of a two-year degree significantly less than the cost of a four-year college, but they are also getting the cost partially paid for by employers. It really creates a strong and compelling value message that is starting to break down the stereotypes.

With technical education being in higher demand than ever before, schools across the country are being forced to introduce new alternatives to in-class learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dennis gave us some insight on how Rosedale has managed to adapt their CTE programs to distance education. He states,

Certainly it’s been a challenge. The innovation that was required to catch up to speed quickly has really been a wonderful opportunity for us to explore how to improve our education going forward. Right now, we’re working to apply for permanent distance education components within our technical education programs for 2020 and beyond. We anticipate making the on-campus experience more valuable because we’ll be able to do some of the theoretical components via distance ed, which will allow us to spend more quality time in the shops and in the labs. The distance education is heavily dependent on engaged, enthusiastic and motivated instructors to make it work.

In addition to incorporating more distance education into their current programs, Rosedale Technical College also has an overall long-term strategic plan for student certifications. Dennis says, “We know that growing our student population and the number of graduates we produce is vitally important for the regional economy. The need for our graduates in the fields that we train is higher than ever so it’s really important that we are continuing to produce graduates that are coming out with industry standard knowledge.”

Rosedale Technical College expects proportional growth in its number of issued certifications as well as extensive use of and participation in their certification program moving forward.

Thank you, Rosedale Technical College, for being an exemplary NC3 Leadership School and congratulations again on being awarded the designation of NC3’s July 2020 NC3 School on the Rise. We’re excited to see your school continue to advance even further! 

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Stay tuned for our next School on the Rise recipient in August 2020!

Questions about NC3’s School on the Rise? Please contact Erika Staackmann, Customer Success Coordinator, 847.533.6985, Erika.Staackmann@nc3.net