GRCC has worked with industry members to create programs to train workers to their needs. Case in point is the wind turbine technician program, which was started to get a local talent pool to be able to work in the burgeoning sector of alternative energy. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

By Nardy Baeza Bickel | Knowledge
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WEST MICHIGAN—Getting people to exercise takes a little bit more knowledge than just giving them an exercise plan and weighing them once in awhile. It also requires the personal trainer to know how to treat a special needs client, how to effectively communicate and knowledge of the legal risks they might face if they decide to start their own business.

All of that and more is what Gary Strehlke is hoping to teach his students during Grand Rapids Community College’s first personal wellness trainer program.

Strehlke, the director of human performance at the David D. Hunting YMCA in Grand Rapids, developed the program’s curriculum after many meetings with industry leaders who can’t get enough personal trainers to fill all the positions in West Michigan.

“In meetings with his peers, we could clearly see a shift,” Strehlke said. “Personal training is one of those items that is not just for health clubs anymore. Preventive care activities in the healthcare field are exploding. Hospitals, corporate wellness programs – there’s a wide variety of opportunities for people.”

The new GRCC program, which is taught both at the college’s facilities and at the YMCA, brings the total of GRCC’s entry-level medical programs to nine. The college has started several entry-level programs in the last couple of years, including health unit coordinator, medical assistant, patient registration specialist and pharmacy technician.

GRCC’s Workforce Development Director Julie Parks said the college is responding to requests from area employers and entrepreneurs as it continues to develop certification programs.

“Employers say they’ve had (personal trainers) positions open but no people certified to take the jobs,” she said. “There are a lot of places they can go from there.”

GRCC is partnering with the YMCA, and Strehlke will utilize both the college’s and the YMCA’s facilities to teach the course.

In the future, administrators would like to see the certification program line up with a two-year degree program for those who want to continue studying. They’re also working to ensure that program would align with four-year degrees, such as those offered at Michigan State and Grand Valley State universities.

The personal wellness trainer program includes 26 weeks of instruction plus an internship at a health club, where students will get the hands-on experience and exposure to real-life situations.

Students completing the program would be prepared to take the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s certification exam, Strehlke said.
“It includes anything and everything that’s involved in personal training: exercise science elements, physiology, biomechanics, consultation and evaluation, fitness assessment, testing, protocols and norms, etc,” he told Knowledge.

It also gives students tools to open their own business, if that’s what they would like to do. Students learn how to develop programs for clients, learn about clients with special needs and the safety and legal issues they should consider when opening a business.

The new program is part of the college’s continuous effort to fill unmet training needs for Michigan workers, Parks said.

In January, the college is rolling out an advanced battery energy storage certification program and in February, the wind technician program.

The college is also working on a new class on deconstruction — how to take a building down in an environmentally sound way — and they hope by next fall, they will have a Smart Grid course, Parks said.

As administrators seek to train the area’s workforce, they also have done so by helping area companies train new workers.

Earlier this year, the Grand Rapids Community College board of trustees approved a Michigan New Jobs Training Program agreement that would provide training for up to 15 apprentices for Autocam in Kentwood. The program is state sponsored and diverts payroll taxes to support training.

GRCC has had similar agreements with Haworth and Johnson Controls-Saft.
“All states support businesses, and this is a different way to do it, a more efficient way to do it,” said Eric Williams, Executive Director for Workforce Training and Economic Development at GRCC. “This is an incentive to grow business in Michigan. We’re glad to help train these folks.”