Learn & Work New Program Brings Skills Training and Success to Utah Residents By Lisa Jane Laird Residents of Central Utah and beyond gained hope and new skills through short-term training programs offered at Snow College to Utah citizens who felt the sting of unemployment or underemployment due to the COVID19 pandemic. Offered at no cost to Utah residents whose employment was impacted by COVID-19, Snow College hosted 10 programs for adult learners in Fall 2020. Most of the programs were a semester or less and offered quick courses in workplace skills needed in the College’s service region, or that could be performed as remote work from home. Supported by the Utah System of Higher Education, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and Talent Ready Utah, Snow College joined all 15 of its sister colleges and universities in offering the statewide training. “The programs worked very well and gave us an opportunity to be nimble and flexible in matching the training to workforce needs in our service area,” said Stacee McIff, vice president for technical education and workforce development. “They were short and fast, and several of the courses were online. Adults gained skills for employment or for an upgrade at their current job.” McIff was instrumental in obtaining nearly $1 million as part of the statewide Learn & Work Initiative created from federal CARES Act funds and awarded by the Utah Legislature.
Katie Justesen, assistant professor of home and family studies, teaches courses for the Learn and Work program's human services certification.
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More than 250 students enrolled in one or more courses, many filling up in the first days of open registration. Roughly four-fifths of the registered students were non-traditional adults over age 25 who had lost jobs, faced fewer hours at work, or had a spouse who lost a job due to the pandemic. S N O W CO L L EG E M AG A Z I N E | 2 0 2 1
