Pima Community College and Pima County hope to expand a program that trains students for skilled jobs in just a few months after calling the first year a success.
Initially launched in October 2021 to help local residents hit by layoffs and furloughs by the COVID-19 pandemic, the PimaFastTrack program offers “micro pathways” to careers with instruction typically lasting three to four months.
The program specifically focuses on skills needed for jobs in high demand, focusing on health care, automotive technology, plumbing, emergency medical services, heating and air conditioning, cybersecurity, electrical work and welding, with courses designed to meet industry standards and vetted by local employers, the county said.
As of March 2023, nearly 150 students had fully completed the program, with about 30 students currently enrolled, and PCC hopes to expand that to serve 400 to 500 people each year.
The FastTrack program is the first of seven programs created after the county awarded Pima Community College money acquired through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
In April 2022, the Pima County Board of Supervisors granted $5.3 million to PCC for the FastTrack program to hire program navigators and career coaches and to fund apprentice scholarships.
About 85% of the FastTrack students were unemployed or underemployed when they first started the program, the county said.
The program provides training at little to no cost for Pima County residents who were affected by layoffs, furloughs and other changes in the labor market during the pandemic.
The FastTrack courses are short but intensive to help students land good jobs as quickly as possible, said Ian Roark, PCC’s vice chancellor of workforce development and innovation.
“These are fields that we know have opportunities for upward mobility,” Roark said. “Our target is for learners to earn family-sustaining wages.”
Go to ce.pima.edu/fasttrack for more information or to apply for PimaFastTrack.
Check out the recently completed Advanced Manufacturing Building at Pima Community College's Downtown Campus in Tucson.
