The Growing Importance of Adult Education and Training in Mesa

Education doesn‘t end after high school or college. For many Mesa residents, advancing technical skills, completing academic credentials, or shifting careers requires returning to schooling as adults. Fortunately, the metro Phoenix region offers growing options tailored to help mature learners achieve their goals.

This in-depth guide examines the 20 top programs assisting adults gain career-oriented training, improve literacy, and continue lifelong learning journeys. It explores recent trends in participation and barriers to accessing education for marginalized groups. You’ll also find analysis of policy and funding changes needed to help Mesa meet all community education needs along with profiles of local residents who’ve transformed their lives through these critical resources.

Surging Interest and Enrollment

Demand for adult education continues to surge across Mesa and surrounding cities according to statistics from local providers:

• Mesa Community College saw 25% growth in enrollments in non-degree technical certificates and workforce training programs between 2018 – 2022. They now enroll over 5,000 adults annually in options ranging from healthcare certifications to apprenticeships.
• Maricopa County has over 30,000 adults actively enrolled in basic adult education programs with trends forecasting sustained increases according to recent Arizona Department of Education (ADE) reports.

Program	2018 Enrollments	2022 Enrollments	% Change
Healthcare Certs	1,000	1,500	+50%
IT Bootcamps	800	1,200	+50%
GED Test Prep	5,000	7,500	+50%

Rising participation reflects adults urgent to upskill given rapid economic and technological changes. Some are looking to shift careers or head back into the workforce after gaps caring for family members. Many low wage workers also recognize postsecondary training as vital to escape poverty-level incomes according to surveys by local social service groups.

Barriers like program costs, confusing options, and availability of classes at convenient times remain. Later sections will explore policy recommendations on improving affordability and access.

In-Demand Career Education

Let’s examine popular career-focused training choices helping Mesa adults secure higher earnings, transition roles, or launch new professional journeys.

Surging Interest in Healthcare

Healthcare occupations are expected to add the most new positions across Arizona over the next decade according to projections by the state Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2032, an additional 140,000 healthcare job openings will need qualified workers to fill them statewide.

Structured training programs allow adults to reskill and enter growing technical medical and patient care roles without needing a full 2-4 year nursing or pre-med degree. Top options in the East Valley include:

Phoenix Nursing Assistant Training Program

• Format: Accelerated 4 week classroom and clinical rotation
• Credential: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Cost: Free for those meeting income requirements with Phoenix Workforce Development scholarship
• Outcomes: 2021 graduates averaged 2+ job offers with 90% hiring rate

“I never thought I’d have a career in healthcare starting in my 40s! The teachers were so supportive helping me transition from retail. I gained confidence speaking medical language and working with patients.” – Maria D., 2022 CNA program graduate

Carrington College Phlebotomy Technician

• Format: Blended 8 week online, classroom and hands-on clinicals
• Credential: Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)
• Cost: $2,749 (discounts and financing available)
• Outcomes: 100% pass rate on national exam; 80% job placement

Healthcare is just one field with growing training opportunities we’ll cover. Next we’ll examine thriving pathways into technology careers.

High-Value Technology Certifications

Technology occupations are forecast to grow twice the average for all jobs in Maricopa County this decade as more organizations shift business operations digital. Companies urgently need to fill vacancies with qualified candidates.

While 4 year computer science degrees are common prerequisites for developer roles, flexible training programs allow adults to break into technology from other backgrounds. Mesa and county-wide options include:

Mesa Community College Software Development

• Format: Choose from 10 week full stack developer bootcamp via Skillsoft, 6 month frontend developer Nanodegree program with Udacity or self-paced options via Coursera
• Cost: Free – $200 monthly with income share agreements
• Outcomes 85% bootcamp satisfaction rate; internship & job placement help

East Valley Institute of Technology Network Support Technician

• Format: Fast-track 3 month weeknight and Saturday classroom & lab training
• Credential: CompTIA’s Network+ and Security+ certifications
• Cost: Free for qualifying adults under AZ Job Training grant
• Salary Outcome: Entry level $45,000 – $75,000

In addition to ample employment opportunities, technology careers also offer long-term stability and salaries significantly above average wages.

Next we’ll examine how adults are leveraging programs to access stable construction industry trades jobs as well despite threats of automation and offshoring in many occupations.

Skilled Trades – An Enduring Career Option

While manufacturing and administrative roles face declining local prospects, construction industry jobs remain critical to our growing region’s infrastructure. With over 175,000 workers per the Phoenix Business Journal, the home building, electrical, plumbing and HVAC installation sectors show steady demand. Trade programs help willing adults access decent paying roles without needing 4 year college degrees. Mesa programs producing job ready alumni include:

Mesa Community College Construction Trades

Program	Duration	Credential	Cost	Hiring Rate
Electrical	16 weeks	OSHA-10, NCCER Core & Electrical Level 1	$1,875 w/scholarship assistance available	93%
HVAC Installation	12 weeks	EPA 608 Universal Tech, NCCER HVAC Tech Cert	$950 w/scholarship assistance available	90%
Facilities Maintenance	6 weeks	Building Maintenance, NCCER Core Intro Cert	$475 w/scholarship assistance available	88%

With certificates taking just weeks to months to complete on accelerated tracks versus years for 4 year college programs, skilled trade qualifications enable quicker transitions into growing construction fields. Hands-on learning also suits kinesthetic learners not drawn to purely academic studies.

Rounding Out Academic & Literacy Abilities

In addition to the plethora of career-oriented choices, Mesa hosts diverse programs for adults still needing to complete high school equivalencies, boost literacy, learn English or upgrade academic capacities to qualify for higher education. Top providers delivering essential education access include:

Mesa Adult Education Center

• Format: Self-paced online, traditional and compressed 8 week in-person courses
• Programs: GED, Basic Skills, College Placement Test Prep
• Annual Enrollees: 7,000+

Chandler Gilbert Community College Adult Learning Center

• Format: Multi-week courses spanning 2 – 15 weeks
• Programs Adult Basic Education, GED Prep, English Language Acquisition for ELLs
• Annual Enrollees: 1,500+ in ABE courses

With many learners balancing family and jobs while finishing degrees, convenient enrollment options remain important. We’ll next look at helpful alternate modes of participation.

Expanding Flexible Enrollment Options

From online formats to accelerated courses, providers continue expanding options for busy working adults facing barriers to traditional learning pathways.

Chandler Gilbert Community College now offers over 75% of adult education courses either fully online or in hybrid mode blending on campus participation with virtual lessons and assignments. Start dates span 6+ cycles annually for ACC Adult Education classes at Mesa Community College with entry possible every 7-8 weeks rather than limiting new intakes just to fall and spring semesters.

For quick transitions into employment, accelerated programs condense training into shorter 3, 5 or 8 week intensive enrollments. Carrington College holds 7-week certificate for medical billing and coding allowing completion in just a quarter of the time needed for traditional semesters. Metropolitan Tech Institute now offers construction and utility worker training on an accelerated 4 week schedule.

Scholarships also help students afford tuition when self-paying instead of utilizing public workforce training grants. Arizona College provides over $2 million in annual scholarships with opportunities for adults returning or enrolling in higher education for the first time.

Evaluating Program Quality and Impact

With an abundance of choices comes the need to help prospective students identify providers with demonstrated outcomes aligning to one’s goals. Critical indicators including:

• Instructor Quality: Requirements for educators to have relevant industry experience, maintain external certifications and renew skills training
• Program Feedback/Reviews: Graduate and student satisfaction ratings and testimonials
• Completion & Success Rates: Percentage of students that finish programs and pass required exams
• Job Placement & Salaries: Available career guidance supports and hiring plus typical post-completion wages

Publicly available metrics allow comparison across quality factors. For example Pima Medical Institute posts 90%+ certification pass rates and job placements on annual disclosures while Maricopa community colleges track industry credentials earned by program.

High impact programs also engage local employers to ensure relevance of skills to labor needs. Curricula align to in-demand technical abilities and soft skills verified through employer surveys and advisories. Work-based learning via apprenticeships and internships further support transitions to employment.

Transforming Lives through Learning

Behind the statistics exist inspiring stories of Mesa residents determined to forge better futures through developing new capabilities.

• After years struggling with substance addiction which derailed college, James P. completed counselor training at Phoenix College and now helps fellow recovering addicts rebuild lives at a treatment center.
• Former restaurant server and young mom Alejandra earned a dental assistant certificate attending evening classes while working days. Her income jumped 60% allowing her to better support her son.
• Widower Reggie joined a CECH trades pre-apprenticeship program out of work for 2+ years after his manufacturing plant closed. He quickly completed training then joined the carpenter’s union for steady jobs.

When I lost my job, I thought I was too old to go back to school. This program showed me I can still learn new things and have a whole new career! – Reggie R., Carpenter’s Apprentice

Supporting adult education that transforms people and communities ultimately benefits all in Mesa.

Addressing Persistent Funding and Policy Barriers

Despite growing participation, substantial barriers limit access from widespread basic skills gaps to financial pressures across Arizona’s adult learning landscape according to advocates. "Non-profit providers face declining public resources while trying to serve escalating needs among students largely living under the poverty line" shares Shannon Mitchell, Policy Director for CAEL.

Limited state and federal funding pose challenges exacerbated by Arizona lingering as one of the lowest investing in per-capita education at all levels. Public workforce development grants prioritize youth, shifting resources away from mid-career adult incumbent staff looking to upskill. Interest in short-term certificates important for economic mobility outpaces outdated funding models that emphasize tuition financing primarily for two-year and four-year degrees.

Shannon projects policy recommendations like expanding Arizona’s Prop. 301 workforce training grant, opening Pell grants for high ROI certificates, allowing tools like individual learning accounts and incentives to employers investing in incumbent skill training as vital to unlocking more equitable skill-building critical to economic growth.

CAEL and other advocates also work closing awareness gaps on existing options plus guiding adults to optimal pathways matching interests to both local labor market needs and available development opportunities.

While major demographic, technological and global economic shifts drive the need for lifelong education access, supportive resources and systems lag demands. Ongoing innovation and public-private coordination helping Mesa area adults reskill promises both individual and societal payoffs vital to regional competitiveness and prosperity.

Continuing Your Learning Journey

We’ve only highlighted a sample of the dozens of affordable and often tuition-free training choices benefiting Mesa adults. You can explore complete local program options through the following guides:

[Mesa Area Career Training Opportunities Guide]

[Mesa Adult Basic Education Provider Directory]

Classes fill fast! Visit sites to learn enrollment details for upcoming start dates. Investing in yourself creates huge returns for your future.