Eduardo immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2012. He started attending an English as a Second Language (ESL) Level 2 class at Mt. San Antonio College. He completed the ESL program and then enrolled in the Vocational ESL (VESL) program. One of the biggest challenges Eduardo faced was attending evening classes while working full time. In his own words, “It wasn’t always easy. I had to work eight- to nine-hour shifts every day while going to school. It was mentally and physically exhausting.”
After work, Eduardo rode the bus to school and back home. It was a challenging time for him, but despite the difficulties, Eduardo completed the VESL program and transitioned to credit courses in 2018. In 2020, he graduated with an associate degree in Business Management, with honors, and is currently working as a full-time administrative assistant at Williams Sonoma. He continues taking credit business classes at Mt. SAC, pursuing his second degree in Human Resources Management. He has plans to open his own business in the future.
Raul completed the EMT program with a goal of entering the Fire Technology program. He started the program in 2019, and then the pandemic hit, and he had to wait months to resume hands-on course requirements. Raul continued online with the theory portion, which was difficult because he had never taken an online class. In October 2020, Raul suffered a tragedy: the loss of his father due to COVID-19. He courageously remained in class with his professors, providing academic support and endless encouragement. Through his tragedies and challenges, Raul completed the course with all requirements satisfied, passed his state exam, and is now a state certified EMT. Raul credits the high Mt. SAC program standards and his professors for his success. He is still determined to become a firefighter and says, “I want to have a career where I am able to help as many people as I can and have a career where I will be physically active.”
Joe had been working in the telecom industry for 13 years when he decided it was time for a career change. He began to apply for different jobs, but he was not getting any call-backs from companies. That was when he realized he needed a competitive edge and needed help getting his foot in the door, so he decided to go back to school. He wanted to be well-rounded, so he enrolled in the Advanced Manufacturing and Electrical Training program at Mt. SAC’s School of Continuing Education. While taking the Manufacturing Processes course, Joe learned about applying Ohm’s law and reading the voltages of the current. It also helped him a lot when dealing with resistors and conductors. In addition, Joe took a career development course where he learned about job search websites, effective interview techniques, and how to customize his resume to the skills required for manufacturing and electrical job positions. He said, “It gave me the proper vocabulary to get my foot in the door.” Joe used the resume, cover letter, and reference list he had created in the career development course, and uploaded them to his profile on ZipRecruiter and Indeed. Since then, he has been getting interview requests daily. Most recently, Joe had his final interview with Caltrans for a field technician and installer position. His interview committee asked him if he could start now, but he said would like to wait until he has finished the manufacturing course. Joe said having the manufacturing and electrical systems knowledge and skills gave him the extra boost he needed to set him apart from other candidates.
El Camino College has successfully applied to be a WIOA II school and has been rapidly expanding their noncredit programs. They have developed noncredit curriculum in construction, automotive technology, and child development and are currently developing medical sterilization, environmental technology for hospitals, personal care aide, medical transcription, real estate license prep, and two information science certificates.
Glendale College has successfully been approved to offer a CNA program which will be offered for the first time in Fall 2023. The program is at full enrollment already. They have offered a Home Caregiver course in spring for students who are registered for CNA in the fall. This course served as a preparation baseline/skills course for the students and will keep them engaged and enrolled in courses before CNA starts. They are both being taught by the same faculty. Their Medical/Clinical Front and Back Office Assistant program is also growing, especially now that the mask and vaccine mandates have been dropped. Glendale is working closely with the Verdugo Jobs Center to help place students into externships. Glendale has also started mirroring entry-level Engineering and entry-level Architecture courses. They offered 5 seats in each and the spots filled quickly. The credit faculty were skeptical at first but now they love it.
Long Beach City College has grown their noncredit program offerings from 22 in 2018 to now over 60. One of their newest and most popular programs is an aerospace program that is in combination with credit. The noncredit aerospace courses are focused on cabling and wiring for missiles and space vehicles.
LA Valley College has developed a community health worker program and has had very strong enrollment since its implementation. They have 11 other certificates in development and have started to focus on developing noncredit programs in media arts because they have strong credit programs in this area and will be a strong pathway for their students. They also have strong industry connections nearby with studios so there will be opportunities for externships and work experience for their students. They have formulated a scheduling plan so that students will be able to take both noncredit and credit courses in media arts at the same time so that they complement each other and add additional opportunities for students.
LA Harbor has developed a small business and entrepreneurship program and will be offering it to students in the summer of 2023.
LA City College has expanded their short-term vocational offerings through the development of their Business Institute, Food Management Training, and Health Occupations programs. The business institute includes Certificates of Completion in Entrepreneurships Skills, E-commerce, International Marketing Professional, Global Business, Law and Ethics in Business, and Gig Economy Success Kit. The Food Management Training programs, Food Handler’s Preparation and Food Service Manager, prepare students for the ServSafe certificates required to be employed in the food service industry. They have also expanded their Healthcare Occupations Certificates of Completion to include Phlebotomy Technician, Medical Assisting, and Optician Technician. The Medical Assisting programs include a Medical Assistant: Front Office and a Medical Assistant: Back Office. These programs prepare students for National industry recognized certifications. They equip students with the skills needed to work in the front desk of hospitals and clinics and to assist the physician or nurse with clinical procedures. The Optician Technician program prepares students for the Registered Spectacle Lens Dispenser (SLD), and Registered Contact Lens Dispenser (CLD) certificates, needed to be employed as dispensing opticians.
Within the last two years, West LA College (WLAC) has launched two distinct programs, Administrative Assistant for ELLs and In-Home Supportive Services for ELLs. Each of these programs were designed with the IET model of instruction incorporating soft skills, literacy, and job training. In the Administrative Assistant program, they enrolled 37 students and retained 32 across all 4 courses. Their IHSS program has had over 100 students, and they have retained 95% of those enrolled thus far. During both the Administrative Assistant and IHSS programs, they have invited multiple guest speakers to share employment information and next steps for their educational journey. To date in the IHSS cohort, the chair of their Health Sciences Division came to visit the cohort during their online course and shared with them the next pathways towards enrolling into the division. Before the end of the cohort, they aim to have at least half of their cohort with a comprehensive education plan on file.
Cerritos College has expanded their noncredit offerings to include programs in electronics and renewable energy. They have already developed one pathway and are working on a certificate for EV charger technicians.
Even during the pandemic, Citrus College has shown enormous growth in enrollment in noncredit CTE programs. They have been focusing their efforts on outreach and retention. They have been holding open houses to build community amongst students and have been calling students who have started an application but did not enroll. Due to their efforts, their enrollments are up by 95% this year. They are expanding their course offerings by adding health occupations this year. They have an entry-level health skills certificate and a front office medical clerk. Both of these certificates also support their credit nursing, EMT, and CNA programs.
Pasadena City College’s new Medical Front Office certificate program is doing well with high enrollment. Extra sections had to be added this year to meet the high demand. They were also awarded a California Apprenticeship Initiative grant for Sterilization Tech and have partnered with LA County Hospitals to offer this apprenticeship program to students.
LA Pierce College has been working to develop First Aid, Phlebotomy, and other allied health programs. They have their president’s approval to hire a full-time noncredit professor position to focus and support these allied health programs.
LA Mission College has been developing an E-sports Event Management certificate. Once approved, this will be the first noncredit certificate of this type in the region. They have also been focusing on developing new culinary noncredit programs that will support their culinary programs in credit. Noncredit programs will include barista, catering pop-ups, and a preparation for Safe Serv certificate.
LA Southwest College’s Phlebotomy program has been leading the region for the past few years and they have now expanded their healthcare careers to include Sterile Processing, Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, and Community Health Worker. Their forklift and OSHA programs are also very popular with strong enrollments and waitlists.
Santa Monica College just received an award from the National Council for Continuing Education & Training for an exemplary program for their new CNA/Home Health Aide program. They are now in their fifth cohort with CNA and students are succeeding. Other new certificates they are offering this year include Rehab Aide and Graphic Design.
Pathways from noncredit to credit has been the focus at Rio Hondo College. Noncredit courses in welding have been developed, and are being packaged into a noncredit certificate. Students will also be able to enter the credit pathway for welding after taking noncredit. The focus for the next year will also be on manufacturing and creating noncredit to credit pathways in this discipline since Rio Hondo has a strong manufacturing program in credit. They are also working with California Conservation Corp to create a noncredit to credit pathway.
Compton College has developed several noncredit courses in computer and information technology, including programming fundamentals, introduction to app development, and advanced app development. Over 24 sections of these courses have been offered to students last year and many students are completing with certificates that make them very employable.
East LA College is continuing to strengthen and grow their programs in the health sector. They have added noncredit EMT and Community Health Care Worker. This noncredit program prepares students for working specifically with the homeless population. ELAC has also been one of the pilot colleges for the CBE project with the Chancellor’s Office and their noncredit faculty has been helping to lead this project on their campus
At Mt. SAC, the Pharmacy Technician program was launched and two cohorts completed during the past academic year. 42 students completed the program and are eligible for a state license. Mt. SAC also has MOU agreements in place with 23 pharmacies for externships for students. The Faculty Lead partnered with the LA County Office of the Assessor (LACOA) to create a certificate of completion for Ownership Clerk 1. It provides preparation for a specialized position within the LACOA to meet the ongoing hiring needs for both new Ownership Clerks and incumbent workers. The Faculty Lead also collaborated with other faculty to write curriculum for: Registered Behavioral Technician, Regenerative Communities, Digital Media Specialist, as well as high school vocational certificates in Law Enforcement, Child Development, Criminal Justice, and Food Services. Faculty Lead also continued to create Distance Learning Amendments for courses throughout the division. Mt. SAC was granted DAS/DOL approval for apprenticeship programs in Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Tech, Personal Care Aide, CNA, and Physical Therapy Aide. Mt. SAC also successfully applied for two CAI grants: a California Apprenticeship Initiative Planning grant for LVN for $120,000 and a California Apprenticeship Initiative Implementation Grant for Medical Assistant and Pharmacy Technician for $1.2 million.