It used to be that a person went to school, graduated and then went to work. Not anymore. Today, learning is a lifelong process. Finding a job and learning new skills to keep that job or to advance are emphasized at area campuses and career centers. Changing technology accounts for much of the need, as do promotions to management or a downturn in the economy.

Lifelong occupational learning is crucial because a person will average seven careers in a lifetime, says Mary Sabillo, director of the San Diego One-Stop Career Center Network.

The network, along with the San Diego Workforce Partnership, provides free service to employers and to employees or those seeking work. During the last half of 2000, about 14 percent of center clients were employed. Programs are tax-funded, with employer costs supported by the employer tax.

“The work force is the broker between the employer and the applicant; the employer is the customer and the client is the product,” says Sabillo. Making the client more marketable is the goal of the career centers, which served 26,000 people during the year ending June 30. During the last fiscal year, around 4,000 sought such services as job training. Case management can include other support costs, such as helping with repairs if a car breaks down.

First-time visitors are impressed by the professional environment at the centers, says Sabillo. Each site has a resource room set up like an office with computers and Internet access. Phones, fax machines and a library with job market information are provided. Center courses open to the public include a job search class that covers topics such as where to find job openings and effective résumé writing. An optional videotaped mock interview allows clients to practice answering questions and see how they performed.

That service alone may be enough for a laid-off person with skills, says Sabillo. If skills need upgrading, courses open to the public range from computer choices like PowerPoint 2000 to English as a second language.

Others may find their skills don’t meet labor market needs, so the center sets up training programs.

For employers, San Diego Workforce provides information about training needs, labor trends and salaries. When businesses downsize, a rapid response team can provide seminars on résumé writing and job hunting. When the economic outlook is brighter, the work force can coordinate job training for new employees. In some cases, funding is available to pay half of employee salaries.

The seven career centers are located from Oceanside to Chula Vista. The Metro Center on Aero Drive shares quarters with an extensive computer program offered through the San Diego Community College District’s Centers for Education & Technology. Community colleges offer credit courses applied to an associate degree or transfer to a four-year college; the centers offer non-credit adult education classes.

Courses at the district’s North City Center on Aero Drive range from “Access Data Bases on the Web” to “File Management for Web Page Publishing.” Classes are free and are scheduled on days and evenings, seven days a week. The district plans to add Sunday classes at other campuses, says Terrence Burgess, San Diego City College president.

Colleges in the district provide career-related courses on campus and in the workplace. City College currently is providing Spanish classes at a San Diego Police Department station. The specially designed course compresses three semesters of Spanish into two semesters. The police are registered as City students. Community college courses are $11 per unit.

Off-campus courses require from 30 to 35 participants. Smaller groups may be combined to form a consortium to receive that rate for credit courses. Otherwise, a customized course can be developed for as few as three or four people. In addition, customized courses can be designed on non-credit subjects such as leadership. These contract education courses cost an average of $150 per hour, a cost that includes the instructor’s salary.

“Think of us as a de facto training program,” says Burgess. “We hope to become the business and training site downtown.”

Another option for employers is Foundation College, which contracts with the state of California to provide employee training for some manufacturing companies. “We focus on small businesses, those that don’t have any training departments,” says James Durbin, Foundation president. “We help employees enhance their skills.” Eligible businesses include those that manufacture software. Other eligibility requirements include what percentage of the business is done in the state.

Foundation’s training includes PC support, Help Desk and multi-media Web page design. Some funding for this training is provided through the state’s Employment Training Panel. Employers are expected to provide an in-kind contribution such as furnishing computers or paying for employees’ books. Foundation also offers a two-year degree program, certificate programs and training for special groups, such as those needing vocational rehabilitation.

Individual enrollment and customized workplace courses also are available through the extension programs at University of California San Diego and San Diego State University. Both universities also schedule on-campus extension courses during evenings and weekends.

At UCSD Extension, business courses for the current quarter cost from $145 for “Competency-Based Interviewing” to $380 for “Managing Human Resources: An Overview.” In addition, the extension’s Executive Program includes courses like “Techno-preneurial Marketing” ($395).

At SDSU’s College of Extended Studies, professional courses range from “Marketing for Small Businesses” ($98) to “Better Business Writing” ($125). The extension Professional Development courses include public programs like a March 21 daylong seminar by business author Tom Peters titled “Reinventing the Rules for the Brand New Workplace.” SDSU’s Saturday seminar on March 16 covers topics like administrative skills and managing change. That seminar is $76 for half a day or $150 for the full day.

“Our motto is learn it on Saturday, use it on Monday,” says William Byxbee, extended studies dean.

SDSU and UCSD are among the campuses that offer certificate programs. At UCSD Extension, enrollment in certificate programs is up. “We had about 235 graduates from our certificate programs, both specialized and professional, for spring 2001 and approximately twice as many for the summer,” says marketing manager Madison Weiss. If UCSD enrollment is an indication of the labor market, the hot careers are human resources management and bioscience and information technologies. “We can never have enough information technology courses,” Weiss adds.

SDSU’s certificate programs range from community economic development to Web development. While employer input led to a workplace English as a second language class, Byxbee says Sept. 11 prompted the development of a new class: Workforce disaster preparedness is the focus of a course that will be offered online in March.

Whether learning how to apply for work in 2002 or how to take a management role, lifelong learning is a reality recognized by campuses and businesses. “You used to go to school, then work,” says Byxbee. “Now you go to work and learn.”