Specialized Maricopa college focused on worker training

PHOENIX — Most current college students know they’re entering a job market full of jobs that require a bachelor’s degree.

But what happens after the hats are tossed, the job is landed and a couple years go by?

“regardless of what institution you’re going to today, every job changes,” Dr. Eugene Giovannini told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR’s Bruce St. James on Thursday. “Within five years it changes quite significantly, to the fact where you need more training, more education.”

Giovannini heads the Maricopa Corporate College, a division of Maricopa Community Colleges. His school focuses on the progression of the county’s workforce and their future. It works with both businesses and employees to assess the needs of both and continue the education of workers.

When it comes to those needs, Giovannini said his school teaches most workers soft skills.

“The ability to learn, the ability to communicate, get along well with others, supervision and management skills, language skills, basic skills, really,” he said.

However, they don’t shy away from teaching high-level skills, such as software coders.

“Any students that graduates from any college or university today in software coding, within three or four years, the coding language has changed,” he said, adding that his school has teamed with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council to improve high-level workers.