MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Adult enrollment for the fall 2022 semester at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center (MTEC) begins at 1 p.m. Thursday and the entire process can be completed online.
Administrator Michael Johnston said the classes are for learners 18-years-old and breaks are planned for Labor Day, fall break and Thanksgiving. Class schedules are designed to meet the needs of people with job or family obligations that want to add a certification or learn something completely new.
“They start anywhere from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and they go until 9 p.m.,” Johnston said. “So, we have a variety of times that people can come in and learn, so it fits their schedule in the evening.”
Classes range from computer-related topics dealing with smartphones, QuickBooks and a course designed to teach the art of blogging. The classes are held at the MTEC facility on Mississippi Street, Mountainview Elementary School, Eastwood Elementary School, South Middle School and the Westover Annex.
“Phlebotomy technician, sterile processing, and we have technical classes like beginning electricity, home improvement, HVAC and welding,” Johnston said. “And the we have our special interest classes like learning a foreign language or real estate sales.”
Financial assistance is limited, but the Monongalia County Adult Workforce Retraining Scholarship through Your Community Foundation is available to those who qualify. The program is intended for people that lost a job, income or hours since the beginning of pandemic disruptions in March of 2020.
“People that use HEAPS (Higher Education Adult Part-Time Student) have to be qualified through a pell grant can be used for a couple classes,” Johnston said. “But, for the most part it’s paying out-of-pocket on your own, but the classes aren’t very expensive and that’s a help to the community.”
Johnston said classes like oil painting, digital photography, picture framing or stained glass give adults an opportunity to develop a new hobby or skill.
“I tell people all the time that if you’re will to come in here and learn to find something new to do, even if it’s arts and crafts it’s never too late to learn something that you just want to have hobby or something new to do in your spare time.”