MANSFIELD, Ohio – Adults can earn credentials or certification in industries such as Automotive Technology, Cosmetology or Welding at Madison Adult Career Center and start a career or boost skills in a particular field.
The facility, which is housed in Madison Comprehensive High School, hosted an annual spring open house recently to show the community and interested students the 10 different Career Development Programs offered at the school, said Director Sonja Pluck.
In addition to the programs mentioned above, other options include Administrative Medical Office, Clinical Care Technologies, Dental Assisting, Industrial Electrical Maintenance, Phlebotomy/EKG, Precision Machining/ CNC Technology, and State Tested Nurse Aide courses.
“We hold the open house this time of year because our programs are still going on and we have students in class training tonight,” Pluck said. “So prospective students can come through the labs, talk to the instructors, ask any questions they may have and talk to our current students to get their perspective of the training programs. We also have people here to help with financial aid and all the steps students have to go through for enrollment.”
In addition to career development programs, personal enrichment classes such as First Aid, Cake Decorating and Microsoft Word are offered for those wanting to add to their personal skills or for certain recertification’s.
“We also provide customized training to area businesses through our partnership with North Central State College and Pioneer,” Pluck said. “It’s called Workforce Partnerships.”
Automotive Technology instructor John Fort said students can take courses to help them prepare for the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification and get hands-on experience.
“The best thing about the program is working hands on,” Fort said. “You get to work on your vehicle and you get to work on some customer vehicles. You get a good, wide experience that way.”
Class sizes are small, students get a basic set of hand tools, and classroom instruction includes computer technology and instruction books, he said.
“Some students will go directly into the field from here, other ones are already in the field and some of them will continue education elsewhere,” Fort said. “It’s a nice little stepping stone.”
Gary McKenzie, veteran/retired Welding instructor, said students can achieve up to three welding certification’s through the career development program.
“To achieve a welding certification, you’ve demonstrated that you can perform sound, high quality welds under extreme conditions,” McKenzie said.
Cosmetology instructor Michele Yost said in addition to learning basic haircare skills, students learn about nail and skin care and how to effectively manage a salon.
“It’s a really good opportunity to learn how to do hair while you can still hold a job during the day,” she said. “It’s only four nights a week.”
“It’s a quicker, shorter term training,” Pluck said. “Most of our programs are less than a year so students can come through our training programs, quickly learn the technical skills they need in a field they want and get to work.”
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