Dr. Amit SinghThe COVID-19 pandemic delivered a gut punch to Snohomish County’s economy. Last month, the local unemployment rate doubled to 5.8% according to federal Labor Department figures; and the number of county jobless claims also doubled in March to 94,000.

As the region grapples with the aftermath, Edmonds College President Dr. Amit Singh is putting his expertise in economics to work as a member of Snohomish County’s newly-launched Economic and Workforce Recovery Task Force.

Singh said the task force’s mission is to both help the county recover and “figure out how we then become more competitive in the long term.” He said that Edmonds College can play a role by offering programs to beef up workforce training, strengthen re-training, and make sure employees and students upscale their abilities to find better jobs as the economy recovers.

Initially, Singh expects that will mean getting both students and those looking for work into short- term training opportunities — nursing programs, blood technicians and other occupations where they can get a professional certificate in three months to a year. That way, Singh says, people can work and continue classes to add to their skills.

For the college, which teaches about 17,000 students a year, that means continuing a robust online education. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, spring term is online only, and summer term will be conducted the same way. The college staff of 1,300 continues to develop the curriculum to accomplish that.

Singh says he is “impressed by the way people have stepped up, faculty and staff” to implement an all online course load. It has not, he admits, been easy. “There’s been stress along the way, but I’m so pleased to see how quickly people are coming together,” he said.

The pandemic and the economic slide have had a “drastic” impact on the college budget, he said, although so far, there have not been any layoffs. Several employees were furloughed at the joint college-aerospace training center at Boeing in Everett, but now that Boeing is running again, he thinks they will be back to work too.

The number of local students enrolled has declined by 8-10%. The number of new international students has plummeted 90% from last year. That’s not just because of the virus, Singh adds. Changing federal visa requirements and international parents’ concerns for their children’s safety on American campuses also factor into that decline.

Right now, about 850 international students remain in student or community housing in Edmonds.

To help offset the financial impact on students, the U.S. Education Department has awarded Edmonds College $1.44 million through the new COVID relief package, money that will be returned directly to students. Singh says 1,060 students already applied for the aid; he expects many more will.

An additional $50,000 has been donated by the Associated Students of Edmonds College to the college foundation. That money will be used for students who need food, housing, medication and tech equipment for spring quarter. The college has also checked out new laptops to 300 students, as well as Wi-Fi routers for those who need them.

Singh says things have changed so rapidly for Edmonds College and for the economy. Both, he adds, are adapting day by day to the unknown. His hope is that the County’s new Economic and Recovery Task Force and the college programs will help relieve the impact of this pandemic.

— By Bob Throndsen