Last week, nearly 150 Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) Adult Education students connected with top employers and community resources at the Job and Resources Fair. The fair was the first in-person event the HCDE Adult Education has had since the introduction of the Contact to Careers: My Plan program, a reimagined plan that holistically addresses adult education students’ needs.  

Attendees had a chance to talk with representatives of 17 vendors, including eight employers, five continuing education and training institutions, and four community resource organizations. The vendors in attendance included, among others, MAREK, MEMCO Staffing, Memorial Hermann Health System, GRADcafé by Project Grad Houston, and Life Enhancement Services. Also in attendance was HCDE’s Human Resources division, which walked students through benefit plans to help them gain a greater understanding of what employers may offer.  

HCDE Adult Education Program Coordinator Luis Sanchez, who organized the event, says the division aims to host at least three events of this nature per year.  

“Seeing that this was our first event, we’re going to take it all in, see what our students’ needs are, and go from there,” said Sanchez.  

Based on the current need and interest of Harris County’s adult learners, HCDE Adult Education will launch two free courses in the coming weeks—a certified nursing assistant (CNA) certification program and a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Core program, an industry-recognized industrial skills course. Registration will be open March 22-24, and the courses will run from March 28 to May 5.  

For more information about HCDE Adult Education and the Contact to Careers: My Plan program, visit hcde-texas.org/adult-education, contact HCDE’s Adult Education division at contact2careers@hcde-texas.org, or fill out the interest survey bit.ly/adultedrec.