Continuing Education Certificates Offer Career Advantage

Many job seekers look for ways to show employers they have received job training, improved skill sets or gained specific technical knowledge in order to find a new job or advance in the one they have. Carroll Community College provides a credential—the Continuing Education certificate—that can help individuals move up the career ladder, enter a new occupation or receive industry-recognized licensure or certification.

Carroll’s Continuing Education certificates, offered in such fields as health care, information technology and skilled trades, can provide a competitive edge in job searches for people who complete them. Training programs have been developed in high-demand areas in the region, and new programs are created as employment needs arise.

A Continuing Education certificate is awarded to a student upon the successful completion of a non-credit course or courses. To earn certificates, students must meet all specific requirements including pre-requisites, learning assessments and attendance expectations. The length of Continuing Education training can range from 30 hours for an administrative dental assistant to 600 or more hours for apprenticeship training programs.

Many certificates have stringent competency requirements mandated by state regulations in order to enter particular fields. Acquiring a Continuing Education certificate signifies that a student has mastered the course competencies by demonstrating the skills and, in some training programs, completing formal assessments or other tests. These achievements can be valuable to an employer during the hiring process.

In addition to its certificates, Carroll offers hundreds of continuing education and test preparation courses for individuals seeking to meet a specific work-related goal. Some certificates are a first step towards obtaining a degree. A Certified Nursing Assistant, for example, may choose to return to the College in the Practical Nursing program. The student may then pursue Registered Nursing, followed by bachelor’s and master’s degrees. These health care professionals may also come back to Carroll to earn the CEUs required to stay current in their field, illustrating how in today’s world, education is a lifetime learning process.