Program Gives City of Phoenix Employees Education Opportunity

City of Phoenix employees now have the opportunity to their further education. The city has partnered with Phoenix Community College to provide educational opportunities for current city employees.

The Neighborhood College program began as a pilot for finance department employees. City workers can enroll in classes at the college in subjects such as workplace communication, accounting principles, web development and customer service. If the employee earns a grade of C or better, their tuition is reimbursed.

“As we started to dig into that more and see the kind of demand we were getting, and interest, it expanded to all employees who were interested in pursuing their associate’s degrees,” Matthew Heil, deputy communications director for the city.

The program started last semester. Heil said 110 employees have taken classes. The next session for employees starts Wednesday. Classes are offered online and downtown near the city offices.

“They immediately can get to class; they don’t have to hassle with commutes,” Heil said.

The city sees great value in the program as a beneficial way for current employees to further their careers and also serves as a strong recruiting tool to attract new employees.

“We’re really kind of focused on providing those skills that let them develop professionally into other positions, like the procurement officers in the city, which require some advanced training,” Heil said.

“I hope that people will take another look at working at the city of Phoenix because we really are interested in being an employer of choice here in the Valley,” Heil said.