Students complete HVAC certification in SMPL, ACC partnership program

Nine students recently completed the HVAC certification course offered in a partnership with the San Marcos Public Library and the Continuing Education Department of Austin Community College. All nine individuals completed 80 hours of instruction and obtained their HVAC certificates on March 2.

Deborah Carter, workforce librarian at the SMPL, partnered with ACC’s Continuing Education Department to bring relevant courses to the area which will help meet an educational need in the region.

“Although we are a college town, we are not a community college town,” Carter said. “This means that there is a gap in educational offerings for everyday community members who wish to level up on their education to gain more lucrative and better employment.”

According to Carter, many jobs in today's economy require certificates or a license, and as these jobs offer a niche expertise, are better paying, and often more interesting and satisfying work.

The HVAC certification course was the first in a line of community education opportunities that we will offer at the public library. “Our mission is to meet people where they are and to help them reach their goals through learning opportunities that match their needs and interests. In partnership with the San Marcos Library and Community Action, we are connecting with members of the community who for many reasons have not seen ACC as a learning resource for themselves," said Terry Garcia, Community Education Coordinator for ACC.

“We are right now we are also organizing an accounting/bookkeeping class taught in English, and entrepreneurship for women, taught in Spanish,” Carter said. “These classes are likely to start this summer.”

The San Marcos Public Library offers free, yearround programming for the community. “We want to sustain our reputation for accessible no-cost programming, because we think it is important that locals never question if they can afford a program at the library,” Carter said. “We provide all materials and cover any costs for any program that we offer.”

Because college tuition is expensive and often even affordable options such as ACC’s continuing education programs can be inaccessible to individuals in need, SMPL called upon long-time partner Community Action in order to help defray costs.

“Community Action… [was] able to use a grant to cover the cost of the HVAC tuition for the students, while at the same time providing academic support services for the learners in the way of relevant math and marketing skills to enhance their HVAC careers,” Carter said.

Andrea Schipper, the Career Pathways Program manager for Community Action, said, “While Community Action offers a variety of courses, our integrated education and training courses like HVAC offer community members the technical and soft skills that they need to make a difference in the economy right away after completing the course.”

For anyone interested in our free classes, they should go tocommunityaction.com/adulteducation.