Continuing Education and Workforce Development

McDowell Technical Community College, through the Department of Continuing Education, offers life-long learning opportunities to any adult, regardless of his/her educational background. A wide variety of programs are offered to provide opportunities for individuals to develop to their fullest potential whatever vocational, intellectual or cultural talents they wish.

Courses are designed to provide educational opportunities to prepare individuals for entry into an occupation, to retrain or upgrade the skills of those who are already employed, or to provide cultural and general interest courses for self- improvement. These non-curriculum classes may vary in length.

Continuing Education courses may be organized on or off campus, day or night, based upon the interest shown by the community, the availability of competent instructors, and the limitations of available equipment, space, and funds.

Admission Requirements

In general, all Continuing Education courses are open for enrollment to persons 16 years of age or older. However, because some specialty and advanced courses may be more difficult and require a greater degree of preparation, potential enrollees should be aware of the nature of the course requirements to determine their possible success in those courses. In certain specialized courses, (e.g., listed here) potential students must be employed by or recommended by one of the requesting training agencies.

Advanced Technology Training Apprenticeship Training
Fire Services Training
Law Enforcement Training
Management Development Training

New & Expanding Industrial Training

Course Descriptions/Schedules

Specific course descriptions are provided in course schedules or may be furnished upon request. A course schedule is published each semester. Courses are displayed via McDowell Tech’s website and courses may be advertised in local news- papers or on local radio stations.

Registration and Fees

Individuals who wish to register for Continuing Education courses can register online at McDowell Tech> Programs & Classes>Continuing Education and Workforce Development or in person at McDowell Technical Community College.

Registration fees for Continuing Education courses are set by the N.C. Legislature, and are subject to change. Fees are non-refundable, except when the class fails to materialize. An extra charge may be necessary in some courses for books, materials, and class supplies. Books and supplies may be purchased in the College Bookstore.

Registration fees for occupational, practical skills, vocational, and academic courses range from $70-$180.00 per course, depending upon the course length.
Self-supporting class fees will vary depending upon the course.

Registration fees for community service classes range from $15-$180.00 per course, depending on course length.

Class Locations

A number of Continuing Education classes are held on campus. Classes are conducted throughout McDowell County wherever a suitable meeting place can be arranged. Classes are organized in any community whenever a sufficient number of prospective class members indicate an interest.

Attendance

Typically, a minimum enrollment of 8 persons is needed to conduct a class. Students are expected to attend class regularly. Insufficient enrollment may result in cancellation of the class.

Certificates

College credit is not granted for completion of courses in Continuing Education. However, certificates are awarded to students who successfully complete course requirements in classes which carry CEU credits. Licenses, diplomas, or other forms of recognition are awarded by certain agencies outside the College upon successful completion of specially designed courses. Certificates will not be released to students who have any outstanding debts to the college.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

The Continuing Education Department will award Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) for the successful completion of appropriate courses. The CEU was designed to recognize and record individual and institutional participation in non-traditional studies and special activities. The CEU is a recognized recording method for substantive non-credit learning experiences. A CEU is defined as “10 hours of participation in an organized Continuing Education experience under responsible sponsorship and qualified instruction or direction.”

Programs Offered in Continuing Education and Workforce Development

General Adult and Community Services

The College is always concerned with identifying community potentials and community needs, drawing together resources at the College and other agencies to create new educational opportunities. Programs afford the opportunity for individuals to gain personal satisfaction through self-advancement. This includes opportunities to grow intellectually, to develop creative skills or talent, to learn hobby or leisure time activities, and to gain civic and cultural awareness. The general types of programs offered are:

Academic Courses
Citizenship Development
Consumer Education
Creative Arts
Education
Family Life Programs
Health and Safety
Homemaking Education
Language Arts Education
Music/Dance Education
Personal Business Education

Occupational and Continuing Education Programs

The college offers a number of Occupational and Continuing Education Services, including Teleconference Workshops, Computer Training, and a variety of specialized programs designed to enhance an individual’s employability, to help him or her learn a new career, to establish a pattern of growth and stability in business and industry, and to help individuals stay abreast of trends in their chosen field. These programs may be subdivided as follows:

Small Business Center

McDowell Technical Community College’s Small Business Center (SBC) began operations on September 6, 1988. The center was established to provide McDowell County with its first comprehensive small business development and assistance program.

The mission of the SBC is to train, counsel, develop and provide needed services for small businesses and their owners. As part of its provision of services, the SBC will attempt:

To operate as an information service on small business issues and concerns.
To coordinate the referral of small business owners/managers to acquire legal sources for in-depth assistance, counseling and financial assistance.
To assist in the preparation of business plans, loan packages and research projects related to small business growth and operation.
To provide limited tax and accounting services for sole proprietorship and partnership businesses.
To seek out information and assist in loan package preparation involving Federal and State financing programs for small business owners.
To deliver one-on-one business counseling.
To assist small business owners with marketing and management problems.
To offer seminars/workshops on timely topics of interest to the small business owner.

To offer a resource library of books and videos to be checked out by clients at no charge.

Customized Training Program

The Customized Training Program supports the economic efforts of the State by providing education and training opportunities for eligible businesses and industries. Amended in 2008, this program combines the New and Expanding Industry Training Program and the Customized Industry Training Program to more effectively respond to business and industry. The Customized Industry Training Program also includes the former Focused Industry Training Program and shall offer programs and training services to assist new and existing business and industry to remain productive, profitable, and within the State.

The purpose of the Customized Training Program is to provide customized training assistance in support of full- time production and direct customer service positions created in the State of North Carolina, thereby enhancing the growth potential of companies located in the state while simultaneously preparing North Carolina’s workforce with the skills essential to successful employment in emerging industries.

Occupational Industry Training

McDowell Technical Community College conducts in-plant courses to assist manufacturing, service and/or governmental organizations with in-service training of their employees. In-plant training is defined as an occupational extension course that meets the following conditions:

Training shall occur in the facilities or at the sites in which the organization normally operates.
Enrollment shall be limited to the employees of the organization in which the training occurs; trainees may be newly-hired employees who need entry level skills or existing employees who, due to documented changes in job content, need up-grading or retraining.
Training may partially be conducted at the employee’s assigned work station during normal working hours.
Training shall be directly related to job skills.

Management Development Training

MTCC offers several different training options concerning Management Development. The college has certified instructors available in areas such as: McGraw-Hill Supervision Training, Zenger Miller Management Training, Deming Quality Control Training and the latest innovations in Total Quality Management.

Emergency Services Training

Fire Service Training
MTCC provides a wide range of fire training opportunities to meet the continuing education training needs of area firefighters. The College offers all course and training requirements to obtain Firefighter Certification, Instructor Certification, Hazardous Material Awareness Level and Hazardous Material Operational Level. The College also holds an Annual Fire, Rescue and EMS College. In total, the College offers over 150 courses annually in virtually every area of Fire Training.

Rescue Training
MTCC provides a wide range of training opportunities to meet the continuing education training requirements of Rescue Personnel. The college offers Technical Rescue (TR) Certification for area rescue personnel. The Annual Fire and Rescue College also provides courses in areas such as Vehicle Extrication, Search Procedures, Man-Tracking, Hazardous Materials, etc.

Emergency Medical Services Training

MTCC provides a wide range of training opportunities to meet the needs of area Emergency Medical Personnel. The college provides continuing education training as well as in-service training opportunities weekly to meet local needs. Advanced training opportunities are also offered including: Basic Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and Vehicle Operator Training. The College offers the following levels of Emergency Services Training: EMT Basic, Advanced EMT and Paramedic. In addition to these programs, the college offers over 100 courses annually in the areas of CPR Certification, First Aid Certification, CPR Recertification and Communicable Disease Training to help local government and industry leaders meet OSHA requirements.

Law Enforcement Training

MTCC provides a number of training opportunities to local Law Enforcement personnel. Training classes are provided to city, county and Department of Public Safety officers to meet continuing education needs. The college currently offers training opportunities in the following areas: Firearms Recertification, Breathalyzer Training, Unarmed Self-Defense Training, Basic Law Enforcement Training (see Curriculum Program description) and Specialized Training.