Students will get College Credit for The Loop Lab AV Technology Programs

Submitted by BFIT

Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT) has reached an agreement with the nonprofit media production workshop, The Loop Lab, to give the organization's students in Cambridge free college credit for their audio visual training programs and internships. The agreement goes into effect for the 2019-2020 academic school year.

BFIT is a small, private, affordable, nonprofit college dedicated to meeting the Massachusetts skills shortage by training and educating Greater Boston diverse, urban youth for well-paying jobs in today's high demand industries, such as the audio visual technology field, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor predicts will add more than 17,000 new jobs by 2024. The Loop Lab is a Cambridge-based nonprofit media production workshop specializing in digital storytelling and workforce development to empower underserved talent in careers in the creative economy.

"Our team here at The Loop Lab is very excited to work with a college with a storied career in producing quality professionals," says Christopher Hope, the group's Executive Director "We are looking forward to offering this academic opportunity to the young people who enter our doors. It will bring them that much closer to closing the loop of opportunity gaps that exist in the AV Technology field."

Under the agreement, The Loop Lab students must successfully complete the training and internship program to receive college credit that they can apply toward a BFIT associate degree in Computer Technology with a concentration in AV Technology. They must also meet BFIT admission requirements and the requirements of its Computer Technology program.

"We are excited to be getting students who we know are committed to a career in AV," says David Tavilla, coordinator of the BFIT AV Technology program. "They are not trying to figure out if they might want to work in AV - they know they want to be here and they will be ready to roll. "
BFIT students graduate with practical experience in their field of study and other skills that are of immediate value in the workforce like teamwork, critical thinking, and professionalism. More than 90 percent of BFIT graduates either continue right into more advance education or enter the workforce shortly after graduation in a variety of high-demand technical jobs in the region.