Arlanda Williams
Vice Chancellor for Workforce Development and Institutional Advancement, Delgado Community College
When it comes to workforce development in Southeast Louisiana, Delgado Community College is leading the way, and leading Delgado’s efforts as of last December is Arlanda Williams.
A Terrebonne Parish native who’s served on the parish’s council for three terms, Williams has always been a proponent of the importance of workforce development, and recently served on Gov. John Bel Edwards’ transition team for the Department of Economic Development.
This new role at Delgado includes overseeing the school’s Maritime and Industrial Training Facility, the Workforce Center of Excellence and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. In each of these areas there is excitement and big plans.
“At the Maritime Center we are working on being recognized as a federal center for excellence, which also means federal contracts,” she says, adding that the Goldman Sachs program is currently in its fifth year and its most recent class, at 33 participants, is its largest to date.
Next month, Delgado will also open the Advanced Manufacturing Center for Excellence in Avondale, a 10.5-acre, $27 million facility in the Churchill Technology and Business Park that offers training in welding, precision machining, electrical/electronics engineering technology, electronics service technology and industrial maintenance.
“My push and my passion is for Delgado to continue to have a regional impact,” Williams says. “Community and technical colleges are growing by leaps and bounds and we are placing people in the workforce in good-paying jobs. We are helping people realize that the American dream is not as out of reach as they may think.”
