Photo courtesy of Jefferson State Community College.
Students at Jefferson State taking part in a “fast-track” program. The school has added a new customer service program taking place over eight weeks.
Jefferson State Community College is relaunching its Customer Service Professional Program this spring to meet a growing demand from some of the largest companies in the state.
Partnering with Alabama Power, ALFA, Ask Telecommunications, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Protective Life Insurance and Spire, the eight-week program begins April 1 and will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Jefferson State Shelby-Hoover campus.
“About 20 years ago, Jefferson State had a call center customer service program, and we sunset it after several years of doing it,” said Leah Bigbee, dean of workforce education. “And more recently, we’ve had a consortium of companies, including Protective Life, Alabama Power, Spire, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, come to us and say that they wanted us to revitalize that program.”
Bigbee said the resurrection of the program comes as companies in Alabama look to hire and retain more customer service representatives.
“Customer service professionals are in high demand, and they need help with retention too — of employees, and keeping employees — and in Alabama, that is definitely a big statewide goal,” Bigbee said.
The class is limited to 10 spots, and registration has closed for the April class, but the school plans at least one more class later in the year. The program lasts eight weeks. Bigbee said bringing back the class is part of a larger push to train customer service representatives.
“This is also part of a bigger statewide initiative,” Bigbee said. “My sister colleges, Trenholm State in Montgomery and Lawson State next to us in Birmingham, will also be rolling out the same program. That speaks to the demand for these roles and just the need to have qualified professionals going into this career.”
Bigbee emphasized that the program is more than just call center training.
“It’s really more of that relationship aspect rather than being just a transactional call center type thing.”
Students will be taught a range of skills to prepare them for customer service roles.
“There are actual software simulations for different situations and customer service roles,” Bigbee said. “We also have embedded into the program soft skills. In these roles, empathy is really important, having a growth mindset and having a positive outlook so they can build trust with the customer.”
Bigbee said Jefferson State offers a variety of “fast-track” programs lasting from six weeks to six months.
“We offer anything from truck driving to phlebotomy, to paralegal courses, to sterile processing, heavy equipment operator to distribution control center,” Bigbee said.
“In the last five years, we’ve created 15 new programs, and every program has been because of industry needs and working in partnership with companies,” Bigbee said. “That’s kind of our North Star with all of this work.”
For more information or to apply, go online to jeffersonstate.edu/customerservice or contact Jefferson State’s Center for Workforce Education by phone at 205-856-7710 or email at workforcedev@jeffersonstate.edu.
