MDC Develops Free Programs to Help Members of the Community Enhance Work Skills following the Jobs Impacts of COVID-19

 Miami, April 16, 2020 – In support of those whose jobs may have been lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and to assist those looking for professional development opportunities, Miami Dade College (MDC), with the assistance of the MDC Foundation, will offer a catalog of on-line courses at no cost in the areas of technology, business, marketing, education, and entrepreneurship. Courses will be available starting April 28. 

 “We are pleased MDC can be a source of support at a time when the world is going through so much uncertainty, providing needed resources to our students and our community,” said MDC’s Interim President Dr. Rolando Montoya. “These academic programs will allow students and the community to remain competitive while enhancing their skills and job readiness.”

Classes vary in length and intensity, from two-day bootcamps to 12-week programs, and they are available to students 18 and older. Courses are designed to respond to the needs of the community in a swift and efficient way.

“Since the outset of this crisis, MDC has gone to work to design this carefully curated collection of courses meant to assist the community to make the best of this downtime to refresh or learn new skills and be better prepared for new job opportunities,” said  MDC’s Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Lenore Rodicio. “Our college is proud to offer these learning opportunities and to lend a hand in the best way it can.”

Some of the courses that will be available as part of this initiative include classes from MDC’s School of Engineering and Technology (EnTec) on Cybersecurity (Certified Secure Computer User, CompTIA Security+ and Network+), that will introduce participants to the basics of secure computing while preparing them for certification; Cloud Computing (AWS Cloud Practitioner and AWS Solutions Architecture), which provide a foundational-level knowledge of cloud services and how they are provided with Amazon Web Services and Geographic Information Systems (Introduction to GIS), designed to help students prepare for the ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Entry 19-001 Exam.

For entrepreneurs, The Idea Center at MDC will offer Marketing Agency Secrets, a course that will introduce participants to the essential building blocks to bring a new product or service to the market; the  Magic of Repeatable Sales, to help students master a step-by-step framework to create and test sales models for their business and Google IT Automation with Python, designed to equip students with job-ready skills with Python.

Those interested in investments can take advantage of courses from MDC’s Business Innovation and Technology Center (BIT) such as Digital Marketing Analytics, which helps to understand how to use data to ensure marketing is effective; Introduction to Business Analytics and Visualization, which provides a hands-on introduction to business analytics and to explore key ideas, computer skills and statistical thinking.  Introduction to Email Marketing, that teaches how to use MailChimp for email marketing and Investment Fundamentals and Practice which introduces students to the basics of financial analysis, risk management, trading and the investment process.

The college’s School of Education will offer Temporary Instructor Training, a class that enables students to become substitute teachers for the Miami-Dade County Public School System and any other school.

For a full list of classes available and to register, please visit http://www.mdc.edu/upskill or call (305) 237-7489.