UNM: Working for Economic Development in New Mexico

Workforce Training and Development Programs

In addition to educating those students enrolled in formal degree programs, UNM also provides a range of programs that are designed either to strengthen the skills of individuals seeking employment, or to improve the effectiveness of current employees through continuing education opportunities.

A. Welfare-to-Work
Through its Division of Continuing Education, UNM is a leading service provider for the Career Works Program funded by the State of New Mexico Human Services Department. The goal of this program is to provide the orientation, assessment, training, job placement and follow-up services needed to transition unemployed citizens into productive job placements. Through this program UNM Continuing Education provides training in life skills, work skills, reading and writing skills, and basic computer skills, as well as a GED completion program and resume writing experience. It also has a network of over 300 New Mexico companies that are utilized for job placement. During FY 2001, 3,673 clients were served through this Continuing Education Program. Of these, 2,747 received training and 1,813 were placed in jobs.

B. The Training Center I.T. Program
The UNM Division of Continuing Education provides a broad variety of Information Technology (I.T.) and professional skills courses and certificate programs through The Training Center. These competency-based courses and programs are designed to enhance the computer-related performance of current employees in both corporate and community-based organizations. Over the course of FY 2001, the I.T. Program at the Center served 6,605 employees from the following organizations:

Albuquerque Public Schools
PNM
New Mexico State Government
Bureau of Indian Affairs
All Indian Pueblo Council
Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce
Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
Sandia National Laboratories
Los Alamos National Laboratories
Honeywell
Honeywell General Electric
General Mills
City of Rio Rancho
Intel
Phillips Laboratory
Kirtland Air Force Base

C. Customized Job Training
UNM's Division of Continuing Education I.T. Program also provides job skills training programs that are customized to fit the needs of specific employers in the state. During FY 2001, these programs served 141 employees from the following organizations:
Air Force Research Lab (KAFB) Black Mesa Coffee Company
City of Albuquerque
Department of Energy
Department of Veteran's Affairs
Fiore Industries
General Mills
Governor's Office of the State of New Mexico
Honeywell
KNME-TV
Native American Consortium of Educators
TRW
UNM Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
UNM Center for Teacher Education
UNM Gallup Branch
UNM General Libraries
UNM Registrar's Office
UNM School of Medicine
Voice Stream

D. Professional Development Programs
UNM's Continuing Education Division offers a wide variety of courses designed to enhance job-related knowledge and skills in specific content areas. The topics covered in this program include leadership development, communication and interpersonal skills, management and supervisory skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, instructional technology, graphic design, paralegal work, business and entrepreneurship, real estate and appraisal, project management, personnel management, finance and accounting, teacher exam preparation and an administrative medical specialist certificate track. During FY 2001, more than 2,300 individuals enrolled in these courses.

UNM's Anderson Schools of Management offers customized management training programs to numerous New Mexico businesses and organizations through its Management Development Center. These programs are designed to enhance management performance by focusing on those management skills that are most relevant to specific types of organizations. Within the past year, more than 1,000 individuals have taken advantage of these programs. What follows is a partial list of companies and organizations that have been served by this program in recent years.

Through the Western States School of Banking, located in the Anderson Schools, UNM also offers refresher courses of various kinds to members of the banking community. UNM's Colleges of Education and Arts and Sciences offer a broad range of professional development courses for public school teachers. And, each year, colleges and schools throughout the University offer conferences and symposia that are designed as professional development opportunities for professionals in various career fields.

E. Industry-Specific Training Programs
In an effort to meet specific workforce needs in New Mexico, UNM has developed a variety of programs designed to produce highly skilled workers who can fill available positions. Many such programs exist on our branch campuses. However, two notable programs of this type are available on the main campus through our School of Engineering.

The first of these programs is designed to prepare individuals to fill supervisory positions in the construction industry. This program is offered through the Construction Advancement Institute, a collaborative effort involving UNM's School of Engineering, TVI, and the construction industry itself.

The second program is in manufacturing engineering. This program consists of a set of interdisciplinary degree tracks that focus on preparing students for careers in the manufacturing of high tech devices such as computers, semiconductors and electronics.