Minnesota State Centers of Excellence
Minnesota State hosts eight Centers of Excellence - each serving a major industry that faces serious workforce challenges. The centers collaborate with industry and educators to attract and prepare students for success in high-demand careers.
Strategically located throughout the state, the Minnesota State Centers of Excellence drive workforce innovation through education and industry collaboration - and provide thought leadership on workforce development in their respective industries.
With our current workforce challenges, employers that engage college students during the course of their studies - and promote curriculum that will make employees more productive on day one - will have a distinct advantage.
The Minnesota State Centers of Excellence offer a wide variety of meaningful ways to connect with those students and the educators who are preparing them for life and career. Those opportunities include:
- Serving on the leadership council for the center focused on your industry
- Welcoming STEM and career camp attendees to your facilities
- Providing input about and helping develop curriculum and certifications to better educate future employees
- Offering apprenticeship, internship and other workbased learning opportunities
For more information, contact the Center (or Centers) listed below that serve your industry.
The Centers of Excellence are helping to enhance education at every level - from K-12 through postsecondary and beyond.
For middle and high school educators, we provide:
- Career camps and tours of industry
- Mobile classrooms and career expo trailers
- Free or low-cost career-preparedness and STEM curriculum
- Educate the Educator courses, camps and online training
For postsecondary educators, we offer:
- Access to grants and industry resources for educators willing to enhance current curriculum to meet industry and student career placement objectives
- Assistance in attaining and maintaining licensing and certification
- Strategies for increasing enrollment in specific programs
For workplace and workforce training center educators, we offer career paths and educational options that:
- Allow current employees and job seekers gain the skills, credentials, and degrees that can lead to higher earning power
- Can be used to onboard new employees, apprentices, interns and work-study candidates
For more information, contact the Center (or Centers) listed below about resources you can employ in your educational setting.
The Centers of Excellence offer many opportunities for students to learn applied skills in multiple career fields while getting a chance to see how these skills are employed in the real world.
For middle and high school students, we:
- Offer career camps and robotics competitions that provide hands-on fun and experiences that show how STEM skills can be used in real-world jobs.
- Develop career pathways that allow students to earn while they learn - from diplomas and in-demand certifications, to 2-year, 4-year and post-graduate degrees.
- Host tours of manufacturing, career expos and other events that help students see the wide variety of careers available to them in specific industries.
For more information, contact the Center (or Centers) listed below that interest you to explore all the available opportunities and career paths in each industry.
For more information, explore the Minnesota State Centers of Excellence below:
Keith Olander, Director
218-894-5163
kolander@clcmn.edu
www.agcentric.org
Tina LeBrun, Executive Director
507-389-7391
Tina.LeBrun@southcentral.edu
www.centerofagriculture.org
Logan Schrader, Executive Director
(320) 564-5035
logan.schrader@mnwest.edu
www.energycareersminnesota.org/
Jason Bruns, Director
507-389-1309
jason.bruns@mnsu.edu
www.engineering.mnsu.edu
Valerie Defor, Executive Director
507-429-6652
vdefor@winona.edu
www.healthforceminnesota.org
Janice Aanenson, Executive Director
612-659-7226
janice.aanenson@metrostate.edu
https://www.minnesotatechresources.org
Jeremy Leffelman, Executive Director
218-755-4222
jeremy.leffelman@bemidjistate.edu
www.mnmfg.org
Carl Borleism, Interim Executive Director
651-423-8577
carl.borleis@dctc.edu
www.minntran.org
Annual Reports
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