Re-enter the Workforce with MCC’s Certificates & Programs

Now is the time to jumpstart a new career! Middlesex Community College’s Corporate and Community Education and Training offers several certificates and professional development opportunities for adult learners going back to school, laid-off workers seeking a new profession, and furloughed employees wanting professional development.

“Community colleges have been a leader in workforce development with our flexible education options,” said Sheila Morin, MCC’s Director of Community Education. “Our high value career training programs can get people back to work quickly or train people for a career change. While a career change can be scary, it also can be exciting. In addition to a traditional two-year degree, students come to us when they are seeking a change and upgrading or learning a new skill.”

Middlesex offers a Technical Writing Certificate for job seekers interested in writing for a variety of industries that are actively hiring employees – such as IT, software, education, journalism and business. This Fall, MCC is offering live, virtual instruction for remote learning so participants can remain safe and healthy while receiving a high-quality education at an affordable cost.

Lois Kilberg, a recent graduate of MCC’s Technical Writing Certificate, has done technical writing in the past, but she needed to upgrade her skills and writing samples in order to be relevant in the field. Kilberg’s goal was to find a job that allows her to work remotely.

“[MCC’s program] was extremely helpful,” she said. “I improved greatly as a writer and learned new skills and concepts. I ended up with recent writing samples that I could use in my job search and I could put new skills on my resume. As a direct result of the new skills and writing samples that I gained from the program, I now have a fully remote technical writing job that perfectly fits my situation and needs!”

Technical Writers are essential to the workforce, according to Morin. MCC’s Technical Writing Certificate was developed in cooperation with an advisory board and is taught by industry leaders. The curriculum is a blend of standards and knowledge of how to write clearly and concisely for an audience, and provides a vast range of tools used by professional writers.

Meera Nagarijan, a 2019 graduate of the program, wanted to get back to work after 12 years away while raising her children. She started MCC’s Technical Writing Certificate to gain relevant skills and learn about current trends. She considers the program a “launchpad” for her new career.

“The program was a perfect blend of the art of writing plus technology,” she said. “It gave the students a detailed semester of the do’s and don’ts of writing technical content and another semester with an overview of the several tools and technologies one needs as a technical writer in today’s world. I personally benefited from the course a lot – it was exactly what I needed.”

Because the courses in the certificate are taught by industry professionals, students gain valuable experience writing effective technical content, learning about tools and technologies, updating mindsets for working collaboratively, and increasing abilities to adapt quickly and learn new situations, according to Kilberg and Nagarijan.

In the 120-hour, two semester noncredit program, participants learn the knowledge and skills necessary to entering – and being successful in – the workforce. In Fall 2020, courses will take place remotely at 6 p.m. on Thursdays, starting on September 10.

Visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/careertraining/techwrite.aspx for more information about MCC’s Technical Writing Certificate Program or contact Sheila Morin at 781-280-3608 or MorinS@middlesex.mass.edu.

To register for classes at Middlesex, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434. Fall Semester starts on September 9.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!