State approves new workforce training programs for adult students

The state is trying to help fill employment gaps with new workforce-based programs at colleges and universities.

Starting in the fall semester, colleges and universities across the state will offer 45 newly approved education and workforce training programs for adult learners.

The Integrated Education and Training, or IET, programs will provide students in adult education programs the opportunity to earn industry certifications and specialized workforce training while also obtaining a high school equivalency and improving English-language proficiency.

The New Mexico Higher Education Department over the summer approved the new programs in a dozen different cities and towns in the state, particularly focused on high-demand fields, including health care, early childhood development and wildland fire training, according to HED.

Other programs include the construction, food, broadband, solar energy and welding industries.

“Our emphasis on these education and training programs will help hundreds more New Mexicans get the skills, training and credentials they need to build fulfilling careers right here in New Mexico, all in a streamlined fashion and in the highest-quality educational settings,” HED Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez said in a news release.

The fiscal year 2025 budget included $2 million for HED to expand integrated basic education and skills training programs and “provide basic skills and workforce development training for disengaged and difficult to reach adults” who can’t access federal IET dollars, according to the budget.

Amber Gallup, director of HED’s Adult Education Division, said that will help ensure there are lots of IET programs that are providing “high-quality workforce training across the board.”

“We have a great opportunity to work with different state agencies to help fill the gaps in various fields with more highly trained New Mexicans who have completed these programs,” she said.