The survey, conducted for the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), marks the fifth straight year of high marks for the workforce development efforts of the state’s community colleges.

The survey was administered to businesses and organizations that received customized training from a Maryland community college in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. The 681 organizations that responded represented an 81 percent response rate.

In customized training, also known as contract training, community colleges design and deliver a specialized curriculum to meet an employer’s specific needs. The training, frequently offered at the employer’s site, can run a few hours, a few days, or several weeks. A broad range of topics can be covered, including computer skills, team building, communication, management and supervision.

The findings of the survey, conducted in fall 2005, were:

• Satisfaction with contract training: 81 percent were “very satisfied”, 17 percent were “satisfied,” 1 percent was “neutral,” and 0.3 percent was “dissatisfied.” No employer was “very dissatisfied.”

• Training met objectives: 89 percent said “absolutely,” 9 percent said “somewhat,” 1.6 percent did not respond, and only 0.4 percent said “not at all.”

• Would use the college again for training: 97 percent said “yes,” 1.6 percent were “undecided,” 0.3 percent said “no,” and 1.1 percent did not respond. In some instances, the choice to not use the college again was because the training need was met and no future training was anticipated.

Maryland community colleges consistently have received a 98 percent satisfaction rating for the past 5 years.

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