Interesting work at a good salary might seem like too much to expect in a depressed job market, but no-cost training for jobs with those qualities is now available at Cochise College.

Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training, Cochise College, Cochise County Workforce Development, Santa Cruz County One Stop, and several other partners in a regional consortium are providing logistics training that prepares students for jobs associated with the transportation and supply chain management industry. The first cohort of students began the course of study in Sierra Vista in January, and students are now being accepted for another set of classes that begins March 11 in both Sierra Vista and Nogales.

The opportunity to re-focus her career is just what Robin Collins was looking for. A Sierra Vista resident, Collins left her job as a certified nursing assistant to take care of family and returned to a discouraging job market. She found a retail job but would have preferred something that offers more stability. So a Cochise County Workforce Development announcement about the free logistics courses seemed like a good opportunity to take control of her future.

“I thought ‘who gives a free class? I can’t pass this up,’” Collins said. “My immediate goal is to get enough out of the program to get a job.”

The students who began the program in January are in the early stages of pursuing a Basic Logistics Supply Chain Management Certificate. Curriculum also is in place for an advanced certificate and an associate of applied science degree. The program is laddered so that each level builds upon the previous, with the basic certificate requiring 18 credits and the associate degree 64.

Even at the entry level, there is a healthy demand in southern Arizona for qualified individuals with some education or experience in logistics management, according to John DeLalla, who is teaching the students at the Sierra Vista Campus. Nogales’s thriving cross-border trade and transportation industry and Fort Huachuca’s military and contractor community offer opportunities for qualified individuals to get a foot in the door and gain some experience in moving goods and supplies from one location to another.

“It’s interesting work, the pay is respectable, and a basic level of classroom experience and common sense is what you need to get started,” said DeLalla, who has an event logistics background with Disney and the Grammy-award winning band Goo Goo Dolls and also worked in railroad transportation in California prior to moving to Arizona 15 years ago.

The basic program covers inventory control, computerized logistics, warehouse management, transportation and traffic management, international logistics, and readiness skills for logistics management. In Sierra Vista, students will see the sort process at the local Fed Ex facility, and DeLalla is considering trips to other venues so the students can see supply chain management in action.

The Department of Labor grant is covering the cost of tuition, books and supplies, which is what drew Kathy Cook, a Sierra Vista resident seeking career security. Cook was looking for something permanent and unsure where to begin when a televised newscast about the program caught her eye. Although it’s too soon to tell where she’ll end up, she’s interested in using her logistics training to work with a relief organization.

“Money is available to go back to school, and that’s what caught my attention,” Cook said. “I’m making a move to advance my future.”

To learn more:
The logistics program is offered at Cochise College in Sierra Vista and Nogales. To access the classes at no cost, interested students need to be legally eligible to work in the United States and provide a birth certificate or passport and photo identification. Former members of the military need a DD214. Classes begin March 11.

 Cochise County Workforce Development
1843 Paseo San Luis, Sierra Vista
Jerry Currier: (520) 458-9309

1706 E 10th Street, Douglas
Rosemary Chavez, (520) 364-8903

Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center
610 N. Morley Ave., Nogales
Diana Kelton: (520) 375-7670