The construction trades program at Mesa Community College will offer new certificate programs. Plumbing courses will be offered in Fall 2023, HVACr courses in Spring 2024 and masonry and solar classes will be available in Summer 2024 at the Southern and Dobson Campus.
“We’re implementing the construction trades programs in annual phases,” said David Cain Ph.D., MCC construction trades program director. “These are the traditional trades that keep our economy going. All through COVID and within the foreseeable future, skilled trade workers are in high demand.”
“We have contractors, suppliers, and vendors calling weekly looking to hire our students,” Cain added. “The construction trades program spaces will be expanding in our parking lot to the east of the Applied Science and Technology Building. The plan is to have a fenced area that has three non-brick-and-mortar buildings that are assembled with shipping containers and Quonset structures that allow MCC to hold classes outside in the building environment. It is our goal and mission to deliver qualified skilled trades workers to meet the growing demand in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.”
A certificate of completion can be completed in two semesters. Students begin with an eight-week online course covering construction safety, hand and power tools, calculations and blueprint reading. The last eight weeks consist of hands-on training in a lab, based on the student’s chosen area of specialization.
The 30-credit program is set up to offer day and evening classes and flexible teaching modalities including In person, online only, live online and hybrid.
MCC student Agustin Hernandez works full-time in construction and says he wouldn’t be able to attend classes if it wasn’t for the evening courses.
After a number of years in the field, Hernandez decided to continue his education. “I realized without a degree, I wouldn’t be able to advance,” he says. Plus, Hernandez likes that, “there are other students just like me in the program, some younger and some older who are looking to do what I want to do.”
Hernandez’s daughter, Lilly, also an MCC student, is on track to graduate from the construction management program in Spring 2024.
Learn more about the MCC construction trades program at mesacc.edu/construction. To enroll, email Student Services Analyst Megan Taylor, [email protected].
