With the U.S. economy still struggling, and a decade of higher-than-inflation tuition hikes at most four-year colleges and universities, the nation’s community colleges are in the spotlight.

In April, President Barack Obama spoke at a community college in Ohio, pressing his belief that community colleges are critical to helping employers, especially in the increasingly technical manufacturing field, find workers with the right skills.

Community colleges appear to be in a sweet spot of sorts — offering an affordable post-secondary education, or a place to acquire specialized skills needed by employers, or a financially savvy place to start a path to a four-year degree.

At Butler County Community College, expanding job training programs are providing students with skills in a variety of industries, including precision manufacturing, a regional specialty with above-average wages.

Except for vo-tech graduates, a high school diploma is not enough for many of today’s manufacturing jobs, particularly the better-paying jobs. Computer-aided or computer-controlled equipment is common on most manufacturing shop floors and specialized training is necessary to operate that equipment.

Based on input from precision manufacturers in the Butler area, BC3 has developed a 10-week course for students wanting to work in the tool-and-die industry. Precision manfacturing offers good employment opportunities, with an estimated 300 small, medium and larger shops across Butler County.

In response to the ongoing growth in the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry, BC3 directed a $553,044 federal grant to expand a welding program geared toward providing workers for the extensive network of gas transmission lines that will be built in the region. BC3’s program utilizes facilities at the Butler County Vocational-Technical School at Butler High School.

The BC3 campus also has a gas well simulation facility, including a wellhead that burns natural gas, as well as storage tanks and other equipment found at a typical Marcellus pad site.

Other targeted training programs at BC3 include six courses on marine security related to protecting commercial ports and vessels.

Altogether, BC3’s workforce development group served 57 organizations in 2011, providing specialized training in computers, human resources, manufacturing and electrical fields.

It’s that sort of training that Obama has talked about, focusing on targeted training, often developed in consultation with industry to provide workers with the skills that companies need to thrive and expand.

America’s 1,200 community colleges can play an important role in helping the U.S. economy grow by reducing the skills gaps that many employers face when trying to hire new workers. And being smaller and generally less bureaucratic than four-year institutions means that community colleges can be quicker to adapt to changing markets and better equipped to satisfy the needs of both their students and local industries.

The specialized job-focused training is one community college strength. Another is helping students aiming for a four-year degree save tens of thousands of dollars by starting at a community college and then transferring to a four-year school as a junior. These two options put community colleges in the national spotlight more than ever before.

The attention is deserved and should help community colleges be seen in a new light.

It’s good to see BC3 doing its part to fullfill the potential of community colleges and serve as an increasingly important community asset for Butler County.