Workforce Development and Continuing Education

Within the framework of the College philosophy, mission, and goals, the Continuing Education Training Network works with experts within the community to develop nontraditional educational responses to identified needs. The Continuing Education Training Network assists departments and divisions by serving as an outreach mechanism for channeling interested students into appropriate credit programs within the college. Other-than-credit courses and activities are offered on campus and throughout the community with dates and times arranged for the convenience of the students.

Occupational and technical short courses are offered for business, industry, government, and professional groups. Seminars and workshops are developed to complement and supplement in-house training and staff development programs.

Certification programs are offered for managers, secretaries, law enforcement officers, private security guards, emergency medical technicians, real estate agents, insurance agents, executive housekeepers, and health care personnel.

Community service programs include: conversational languages, personal development and life skills courses, Summer courses for children, and planetarium programs for the general public.

Avocational programs include classes in GED and English as a Second Language training for persons lacking high school diplomas or language skills.
 

The Continuing Education Training Network plays an important role in helping local employers with their training needs. The division has delivered contracted instruction to local employers, professional associations, and other governmental agencies in our four-county service area since 1969. This service has been provided on and off campus in varying depth and breadth using a variety of methodologies, always geared to the particular needs of the organization requesting the service. This tradition will continue but with more emphasis on the application of new skills to the workplace and follow-up study, where applicable, to determine employee efficiency and productivity. The goal will be to demonstrate a return on investment for our clients.

The Continuing Education Training Network’s customized training service will also endeavor to:

• Expand its business and governmental partnerships.
• Support small business growth and entrepreneurship.
• Work with economic development agencies to attract new businesses.
• Provide entry-level training or retraining for new enterprises.
• Seek special funding to upgrade workplace skills of the local labor force.

The Continuing Education Training Network reflects the college’s expanded commitment to support local employers through workforce education and training. A new delivery system now allows the division to be a more efficient, customer-oriented enterprise committed to quality instruction.

The new structure is comprised of five centers, two academies, one institute, and the only planetarium in south Texas. It includes:

Service, Trade, and Industry Center - Steven Lewis 210-486-0417

The Service, Trade, and Industry Center offers occupational and technical short courses for business, industry, government, and professional groups in food service, dietetic food service supervising, ESL shared course, floral design/management, HAZMAT and safety.

Language & General Education-Skills Center - GED, Childcare & CKF-Joanna Grogan 210-486-0409 / ESL-Steven Lewis 210-486-0417

The Language & General Education Skills Center provides such community service programs as GED training, English as a Second Language training, child care training, foreign language courses, shared courses, College for Kids, and the Intensive English Institute.

Professional Studies, Licensure, and Certification Center - Joanna Grogan 210-486-0409

The Center for Professional Development offers management, leadership, supervision, and other professional certification and licensure programs in real estate sales, payroll, insurance, purchasing, banking, training, customer service, and human resource development.

Continuing Nursing Education Center - Lupe Herrera 210-486-1220 / Andrea Flores 210-486-1183

The Continuing Nursing Education Center offers professional updates for registered nurses on pharmacology, pathophysiology, skills refresher, and intravenous therapy; certification programs for dialysis and ECG monitor professionals; type I nursing contact hours; nursing re-entry preparation courses; and medical practice management training.

EMS Academy - Wynn Gordy 210-486-0418

The EMS Academy offers professional certification programs in EMT/paramedic, pharmacy technician, industrial safety, hazardous materials, and CPR. The academy also offers courses in medical technology and other allied health occupations.

Law Enforcement Training Academy - Frank Francis 210-486-1337

The Law Enforcement Training Academy offers professional certification for basic peace officer, jailer/corrections/ probation officer, and private security officer. The academy also offers law enforcement in-service courses.

Medical Office & Administrative Support-Skills Center - Jorge Lopez 210-486-0412

The Medical Administration Support Institute offers a full complement of computer courses in Microsoft applications, Web Design courses, Computer Graphic courses, and accounting software for the beginning and intermediate computer user. The institute also offers several programs in Medical Front Office Assistant and Medical coding, and Pharmacy Technician trainings. Computer-aided drafting and online computer instruction in a multitude of subjects are also offered through the Institute.

Scobee Planetarium

The Francis “Dick” Scobee Planetarium contains the modern star projector and is used to offer educational programs not only to college students but also to area school students from kindergarten - high school. Programs are also offered weekly to the general public. Located adjacent to the planetarium is the college observatory, which houses a 14-inch telescope.  Closed for one year due to the addition of the Challenger Center.

Workforce Education Certificate Programs - Joanna Grogan 210-486-0409

Workforce education programs provide students the opportunity to develop marketable skills proficiency or to meet a self-defined educational objective. Program courses result in the student receiving an institutional, state, or agency certificate. The programs listed below represent a formal sequence of courses that have been approved by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
 

EMT Paramedic Program

This 10-course program covers the knowledge and skills necessary to reach competence in the assessment and management of ill or injured patients in non-traditional populations, the assessment of patients with medical emergencies, emergency scene management, and the assessment and management of patients with cardiac emergencies. The program concludes with a capstone course designed to provide instruction on teaching and evaluating comprehensive, assessment-based patient care management as well as ambulance and hospital clinical experience. Successful completion entitles students to take the state certification exam for EMT-paramedic status. Students are eligible to receive college credit toward the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Emergency Medical Services upon successful completion of this program and upon meeting the college admissions requirements.

Pharmacy Technician Program

Offerings in the Pharmacy Technician Program are designed to prepare students for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) Examination. The exam certifies the competency of those individuals who demonstrate the knowledge required to practice as a pharmacy technician. Courses cover the broad knowledge of pharmacy practice, skills, and techniques required to order, stock, package, and prepare medications. These are non-college credit courses.

Peace Officer Certification

The Peace Officer Program prepares the student to take the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) Examination for basic peace officer certification. Courses cover the broad knowledge and skills required to serve as a licensed peace officer in Texas. Students will participate in weapons training and the professional police-driving lab to receive full peace officer certification upon successful completion of this program.

Professional Certification & Licensure Training

The Continuing Education Training Network offers training sanctioned by appropriate state and national associations and state licensure boards. Some areas of training are:

Correctional Officer
CPR
Dietetic Food Service Supervisor
EMT Basic through Paramedic
Environmental Technology
Executive Housekeeping
Floral Design/Management
Food Protection
Insurance Licensure
Law Enforcement Licensing
Medical Front Office/Coding
Nurse Aide
Occupational Health & Safety
Professional Nurse Education
Purchasing Management
Real Estate Sales/Inspection

International Programs

The Continuing Education Training Network endeavors to facilitate international initiatives on behalf of the institution. In recent years, the division provided customized conversational English courses to students from technical universities in the eastern part of Mexico. Additionally, the division provides ESL training to students participating in vocational programs sponsored by the Central Intercultural Educational Development (CIED) Program. These participants come from Haiti, Jamaica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. The division is currently affiliated with the International Consortium for Education and Economic Development representing post-secondary institutions from Canada, United States, and Mexico.