This fall, Tacoma Community College (TCC) will open the Washington Institute for Service Excellence: A Skills Assessment and Training Center.

The institute will be located at the Tacoma Mall, in the space that was previously TCC’s Information Technology Certification and Testing Center (ITCC). The ITCC has been relocated to the college’s main campus.

A primary goal of the institute is to work with employers to help assess new and current employees. Program offerings will integrate adult basic education, workplace skills, retail sales and customer service.

“This is both an assessment and a training center,” said Paula Norby, dean for workforce and basic skills education. “We want to keep the emphasis on both.”

Students in TCC’s WorkFirst program will receive integrated basic skills education in reading, writing and math along with retail training via a partnership with the National Retail Foundation (NRF), Norby said. “Upon successful completion, they will be able to test for a national certification in customer service,” she added.

Open not just to WorkFirst students, the institute will also be the new home of TCC’s Customer Service Academy, a nine-module series providing training in key areas of service and equipping participants with skills that can be applied immediately in the workplace. The program is particularly suitable for existing employees of an organization or business and can be delivered on site.

The college is also working with the NRF to provide sales and service training, certification and testing. The curriculum is based on national skill standards and provides a foundation for people new to services industries, particularly retail sales.

For more information, contact Linda Washburn, director of business training and advancement, at 253.566.5374 or lwashburn@tacomacc.edu.