The college is also about to begin talks with the state Office of General Services, Buono said. While a few classes had been informally held at the Dormitory Authority before this year, this is the first time the classes are formally being offered there and at other agencies, said Buono, the Dormitory Authority's former executive director. While Learn Where You Earn will allow HVCC to broaden its reach to potentially thousands of state workers, for the employees, the program offers a convenient place to take classes, he said. This way with the on-site classes, they get done with their jobs and just go to another room in their building for class. Roth agreed that convenience was crucial, saying that his and other agencies must offer employees as many career opportunities to recruit and retain qualified people.
Training is huge.
However, in the past, the problem was that people were too busy with their jobs or family obligations to travel somewhere to take classes, he said. The on-site classes eliminate logistics as an obstacle, Roth said, noting the workers' unions also offer vouchers that cover some of the tuition costs. David Delcogliano, a taxpayer service representative, took an accounting class once a week after work. But HVCC's program allowed him to take a class to improve his career opportunities. Nicole Eddy, an agency staff member who was responsible for processing pilot program applications, decided to take one of the accounting classes herself.