NapaLearns Virtual Career Academy Is Launched

With the Napa County unemployment rate at 14%, it’s clear that the pandemic has impacted many young adults entering the job market, as well as other workers who have been laid off or furloughed. It’s been a major setback for both groups. So in March, we took a hard look at where we were and how we could make a difference:

• How could we help accelerate careers for recent graduates?
• Could we offer worker-retraining to help the unemployed navigate the economic situation?
• What could we provide to maximize equity in high demand, high tech jobs?

These questions were the genesis of the NapaLearns Virtual Career Academy and I’m pleased to give you this update. In just over 3 months, we’ve assembled an amazing program!

100% Online, 100% Free industry certifications

We’ve engaged six expert instructors to lead courses in Adobe Digital Design, Autodesk 3-D Modeling, Google Digital Marketing, Cisco Programming in Python, Google Information Technology Support, and Cisco Cybersecurity.

NapaLearns is providing everything needed to earn a technical certification for free, including: the courses, software, labs, and reinforcement from expert instructors who will guide students throughout the program.

Students participate in a cohort model

Unlike other online courses, students in this program are members of a cohort and classes are a shared learning experience. This allows participants to gain the wealth of knowledge that comes from diverse backgrounds and to learn from their peers as well as our instructors.

“Recent unemployment driven by Covid-19 will make it necessary for some people to switch careers and learn new skills. For students and recent grads, the epidemic is delaying their entry into the workforce. In both cases, NapaLearns is a place they can get specialized training to help launch high-tech careers that will help energize our economy. The NapaLearns Virtual Career Academy opens up great opportunities to learn in this new environment.” California Senator Bill Dodd, District 3

There’s room for more! 

If you know someone who is interested in accelerating their career or enhancing their current skills to move into high tech, high demand positions, please share this message. 

And, if you have any questions or can help support this effort, I would love to hear from you. 

With appreciation,

Peg Maddocks, Ph.D.
Executive Director