BizTimes: What is your corporate philosophy? What sets it apart?
Vicki J. Martin: “Milwaukee Area Technical College is a comprehensive and open access community and technical college that serves students in Milwaukee, Ozaukee and parts of Washington and Waukesha counties. We are the largest and most diverse two-year college in Wisconsin, and we are committed to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion where everyone feels valued, respected, welcomed and appreciated. And that is reflected through our 180+ programs, 56% students of color, and 76% of our graduates work in the MATC District.”
BizTimes: What do you see as your most important responsibility to your customers?
Martin: “Our highest priority is to provide anyone who wants a certification, diploma or degree access to high-quality programs and resources that will help them succeed and achieve their goals. We are committed to offering in-demand programs that offer a pathway to family-sustaining wages.”
BizTimes: Does your company have any new products, services to announce?
Martin: “Microcredentialing and badges to meet student demand and employer needs based on competencies required in the workforce. We are sharpening the focus on our shorter-term credential programs – technical diplomas that train students in a year or less and get them into the workforce as fast as possible. We are also working to expand our bilingual services to become a federally-recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution.
We have received generous and historic support for this effort through the Ellen and Joe Checota MATC Scholarship Program which, when combined with donations that will be matched two-to-one, creates a $7.5 million scholarship fund. It’s the college’s first-ever full-ride scholarship and the largest in the 110-year history of MATC.”
BizTimes: What is different in higher education today than when you started your career?
Martin: “We are being sought out as a first-choice college more than ever before. We continue to see an increase in the diversity of our students, faculty and staff that reflects the community we serve. Also, our responsiveness to the local labor market is much more front and center today. Students and employers appreciate how we effectively and quickly provide high-quality training and instruction that prepares students for a well-paying, family-sustaining career.”
BizTimes: What opportunities/challenges do you see on the horizon for your industry?
Martin: “We have some real opportunities to grow our enrollment through our dual enrollment/dual credit programs, where high school students can earn college credit and credentials.
We continue to work with our business and industry partners to ensure we provide rapid, relevant workforce training to reskill or upskill. In our healthcare apprenticeship, workers are learning while working and earning. Challenges will be to recruit and retain top talent for our faculty, administration and staff, and being agile, adaptive and effective in managing changes in technology such as artificial intelligence.”
700 W State St • Milwaukee, WI 53233
(414) 297-6282 • matc.edu
