Aparicio-Levy Technical Center Offers Affordable Training for a Changing Economy

Key words for AnnMarie Courtney in her work as principal of the Aparicio-Levy Technical Center are “individualized,” “credible” and “relevant” as it applies to learning skills for first jobs, more advanced jobs and brand-new careers.

“We fall under the umbrella of the Hillsborough County School District but we focus on adult training, so our students need a high school diploma or GED equivalency to access our training,” Courtney said in an interview, at the 2011 Greater Brandon Community Health Fair at the Campo Family YMCA on March 5.

In some respects, the center is a best-kept secret in that its costs are low and its offerings are relevant to people looking to change careers or to re-fashion themselves after coming to terms with economic pain, including a firing, a failed business or a distressed industry.

“We focus on three different areas,” Courtney said. “One is career-building skills, the other is to upgrade skills and the third is to offer professional and personal development.”

For example, studying to become a veterinarian technical assistant would fall under the banner of “career-building skills.” Yet, learning proper pet restraint and initial first aid techniques for household pets would fall under “personal development.”

You might want to learn to master the Adobe Creative Suite for industry certification, or to simply add to your set at skills at work or at home in using the various programs involved in that suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver.

For training to become a media production specialist, the 600-hour course carries a tuition price of $2,100, or $3.50 per clock hour.

As a publicly funded adult education center, “Cost is definitely one of our selling points,” Courtney said. “Our core training programs are based on $2.27 per clock hour for tuition, and books, materials and supplies are added to that 

For example, she said, the veterinarian assistant program runs for 750 clock hours, which means the tuition cost is $1,702.50.

The school’s motto is to “Teach Tomorrow’s Technology To Students Today,” and at such an affordable price, Courtney added, “it’s a really best-kept secret we’re trying to get out."

The Aparico-Levy  Technical Center is considered a Greater Brandon campus, at 10119 East Ellicott Street in Tampa. It offers as well, for businesses, corporate training and facility rentals, including a teaching auditorium and computer classrooms.

The course offerings show programs in the business, consumer electronics, customer service, English as a second language, GED preparation, information technology, manufacturing, medical and media production.

A current course schedule, for the winter semester, is online as well.

A sampling of the offerings:

• Phlebotomy Technician — $697 (165 hours)
• Network + Certification Preparation — $739 (150 hours)
• Manufacturing: Animation and Production Technology — $1,598 (600 hours)
• Introduction to Computers — $54.58 (six hours)
• Introduction to Health Care — $291.85 (90 hours)
• Biomedical Technician — $2,625 (1,000 hours)
• Interviewing/Resume Workshop  — $54.58 (six hours)