Middlesex Community College: Students Advance Careers In MCC's Awarding-Winning Classes

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

4/29/2021

Middlesex Community College educates students for today’s workforce. In the Community Education and Training (CET) program at Middlesex, experts and professionals in their fields provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. This includes in CET’s award-winning Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certificate programs.

“Now is the perfect time for people in all stages of their careers to take professional development courses at Middlesex,” said Sheila Morin, MCC’s Director of CET. “If you are working from home, furloughed, laid off or looking to enter a new profession, our courses are offered online to provide a flexible, convenient and affordable way to strive towards career advancement.”

In the SHRM Essentials of Human Resource (HR) Management course, participants gain foundational knowledge in addition to an introduction to behavioral competencies essential to success. The course is geared towards current and entry-level employees who are starting out in HR, or for those who are looking for an effective way to boost their employee management skills.

Throughout the course, students learn topics related to the HR function, talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, learning and development, performance management and employment law. Once the course and modules are finished, student are awarded a certificate of completion.

“SHRM's HR Essentials is a great foundational course with a little bit of ‘everything HR,’” said Carla Patalano, MCC CET Instructor. “Having this professional development lends credibility to individuals who are either considering HR roles, are new to HR, or have had HR duties assigned to them. We have a lot of fun in this class! I go out of my way to keep the energy level high in the online sessions and focus on interaction via polls, activities, breakout rooms, chat, etc.”

Lisa Marie Noke-Kearney – of Billerica – has been taking classes at Middlesex to earn an associate degree in human services. Having worked for a number of years as Director of Human Resources, she wanted to take CET’s SHRM Essentials of HR Management course to learn more about the field as it is in current times.

From bringing her experience in the field into the classroom to breaking down the information with examples, Noke-Kearney believes that Patalano was an effective instructor. She also appreciated the details that went into the slide presentations, the overall outline of the course, and being able to take it from home.

“That was the best class I’ve ever taken online,” she said. “She got everybody involved. The dynamic of being with your classmates was really fun. People weren’t sitting around not raising their hand or not being engaged – you wanted to be part of the conversation. In our breakout groups, everybody felt good about what they were learning and what they were doing.”

In addition to her experience working in the field, Noke-Kearney is now working on the academic part. She enjoys being able to look back at her notes and resources and have a reference guide.

“Having both the education and hands-on experience really helps,” she said. “Taking the class has helped me look at things in a different way. It’s preparing me to work with clients and helping me think or stand in someone else’s shoes.”

For students who want to upgrade their skills, learn updated knowledge, or start out in a new career, Noke-Kearney recommends they go to Middlesex.

“The quality of the teachers are amazing,” she said. “They work in the field so I felt a connection to them. I really enjoyed my peers, I loved the flexibility of both campuses – I could go to Lowell or Bedford – and I like the variety of what Middlesex has to offer.”

The next section of the SHRM Essentials of HR Management course starts on June 3 and runs online from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights through July 1. Students will review and student the class lecture, as well as complete assignments online before joining in the weekly class meeting and discussion portion.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/careertraining/shrme/ or call 1-800-818-3434 for more information and to enroll in the course.

MCC’s CET programs provide academic, professional and personal enrichment for students of all ages and stages in their lives. For more information about CET’s certificate programs and noncredit courses, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/careertraining/ or contact Sheila Morin at morins@middlesex.mass.edu or 781-280-3608.

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!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.