San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) celebrates the grand openings of two new Career and College Transition and the Rising to Success Centers during their Career and College Transition Week. Doors open this week at SDCE’s Mid-City and Cesar Chavez Campuses.

SDCE’s adult learners will now have access to full time assistance with career planning including resume critiques, interviews, job search strategies, career assessments, exploration and research, decision making, goal setting, assistance with transition to college and/or employment.

“Free career training is one of the best and fastest paths to a career with living wages,” said SDCE’s President Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D. “SDCE’s career centers are especially prepared to help students who have no family history or experience with accessing higher education.”

Earlier this month, SDCE announced Stephanie Lewis as the new Career and College Transition Dean. Lewis comes to SDCE from Long Beach Community College where she has been serving as the Program Director for Adult Education since 2016. Prior to this work, she was employed with the Los Angeles Job Corp as the Director for Career Development and Academic Programs.

Lewis has a Master’s degree in Educational Management from the University of La Verne, and a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development from California State University Northridge. She also earned a teaching credential from University California San Diego. As SDCE’s newest dean, she will oversee the Career and College Transition Centers that provide critical and focused leadership for SDCE’s college transition efforts.

SDCE offers the state’s only free short-term career training programs in Advanced Manufacturing, Energy, Construction and Utilities, Health and Information and Communication Technologies.

SDCE is the adult education institution within the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD). Many adults start at SDCE and then transition to an SDCCD college, City, Mesa or Miramar and select SDCE career training programs are eligible for credit toward a two-year degree.

SDCCD was responsible for generating an estimated $4.4 billion into the regional economy during the 2017-18 fiscal year, an amount equal to 1.9 percent of the county’s gross regional product and enough to support nearly 46,000 jobs, according to a new analysis from an Idaho-based labor market analytics firm.