(Miami, FL). – On Wednesday, October 16, our principal and director of business development, Luis Llerena, participated as a guest panelist at the Warrior Wednesday quarterly meeting of United Way Mission United, the United Way of Miami-Dade’s program focused on helping Veterans acclimate to civilian life.

 Launched in 2016, the Mission United program connects Veterans and their families with essential services and employment opportunities to help them lead productive lives in our community. The program introduces Veterans to a coordinated network of community partners that can support them with job training and opportunities, affordable housing, legal resources, among others, helping ease their transition to civilian life and addressing their unique needs.

This quarter’s Warriors Wednesday event presented a lively panel discussion on career paths for Veterans. The panelists, besides Llerena, were Sonia Jacobson, co-founder, Suited for Success and José Feria, Ph.D., interim chair, Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability, at Florida International University. They provided key insights on how to obtain industry-specific certifications, as well as alternatives to a four-year college education and employment readiness services.

Mr. Llerena’s presentation focused on the skilled trades and academic opportunities that CBT Technology Institute offers to Veterans, highlighting that “we are a military-friendly school that not only hosts students, faculty, and staff members that have proudly served in the U.S. Armed Forces, but we also have a dedicated Veterans Affairs specialist who provides the entire experience from beginning to end.”

Since its foundation in 1988, CBT Technology Institute has been educating and supporting America’s military personnel and Veteran community with the right academic opportunities designed to fill the gap in the current job market. CBT Technology Institute also provides the best training for a real-world career success.

“Our Electricity [diploma and electricity associate degree] and our Air Conditioning one year or [HVAC] two-years hands-on programs, offer a career pathway to either becoming an Electricity Journeyman or A/C Journeyman and after several years getting your Masters License. They also open up the ability to become an entrepreneur, as many of our students have opened their own business,” Llerena said.

The 2018 “One Community, One Goal” Annual Report, ranked the Technology industry as the field that experienced a greatest 6-year job growth result of 40% in Miami-Dade County. “Information Technology is actually one of the programs that is also ranked high at the Beacon Council’s radar,” said Llerena. “So, we have been able to introduce skillsets like cyber security, coding, programming, and network essentials, among other skills, that improves the academic preparation of a very-much-needed workforce.”

For the Veteran community, CBT Technology Institute offers competitive tuition rates, high-quality academic programs designed to complement their military training, and favorable transfer conditions. “Normally, CBT Technology Institute allows 25% of transfer credits. That includes courses that the prospective student took in another school or courses that they approved by examination,” Llerena said. “For the Veteran community, CBT Technology Institute allows up to 50% transfer credits. So, let’s say a Veteran takes the diploma program in Electricity, that is 24 credits. He or she will be able to earn 12 credits towards their diploma through prior courses, or even experience that they had in the military that might be relevant to the electrical program. Many Veterans get skills training while in the military that can be transferred into their studies at CBT Technology Institute”, Llerena said.

Since 2009, CBT Technology Institute continues to be included in the Guide to Military Friendly College & Universities and participates in the Yellow Ribbon program, to which Llerena commented: “We are a Yellow Ribbon participant. This means that, if an eligible student reaches the cap but still has tuition pending, we give a scholarship for half of that amount and can charge the VA the other half. Only Veterans with 100% Post 9/11 GI Bill® are eligible for Yellow Ribbon.”

The presentation concluded with a cordial invitation to contact CBT Technology Institute Career Services Department so the attendees could get more information about the advantages and benefits that CBT Technology Institute offers to active duty personnel in the US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; Active Reserve members; members of the National Guard; Veterans honorably discharged, and their spouses and dependents.

If you are interested in getting more information about the career opportunities you can have with CBT Technology Institute, please contact us at (786) 567-3162 or fill the Contact Form for Veterans, Active Duty Personnel, and families. We are here to serve you!