Where to Find Public Continuing Education Without College Or University
Last month, I was folding my 12-year-old’s stained soccer uniforms at the kitchen table when my 19-year-old nephew Jax dropped a half-eaten slice of cold pepperoni pizza on the counter and asked me the question I’ve gotten three times in the last six months from recent high school grads: “I don’t want to go to college. Where can I keep learning that doesn’t cost a thousand bucks a class?” Jax had dropped out of his first semester at the regional state university six weeks prior, after realizing he’d picked a business major just because his dad suggested it, and he couldn’t shake the feeling he was throwing away money he didn’t have on classes that didn’t teach him anything he cared about. He was crashing on our couch while he worked 20 hours a week at a local auto shop changing oil, and he was adamant he didn’t want to stop learning – he just didn’t want to do it at a college.
I’ve been a high school guidance counselor for 12 years, and for a long time I mostly framed education around the traditional college track. But more and more kids are asking for other options, and what most people don’t know is that there are free or low-cost public options right in their own community, no application fees or standardized tests required.
The first place I sent Jax was our city’s main public library. He laughed and said, “What, am I gonna check out a bunch of textbooks?” But I told him to just go to the reference desk and ask what continuing education subscriptions they offer. Our library gives free cards to every city resident, and that card unlocks (wait no, no, change that: that card gets you free access to LinkedIn Learning, which has thousands of courses on everything from construction blueprint reading to graphic design to small business accounting. They also have free access to most of Coursera’s premium content, so you can take actual college-level classes from big national universities for no cost, just through the library’s subscription. Last year, the library started hosting free in-person classes too, funded by the city’s parks and recreation department. Jax likes turning wrenches on his 1998 Ford F-150 with the dented bumper, so he signed up for a 10-week basic automotive repair class taught by a retired Ford mechanic. It was totally free. The library supplied the parts and the garage space at the local community center. Last week he told me he just fixed his own alternator that he would have paid $450 for a shop to do, just from what he learned in that class.
Next, I told him to check our local school district’s adult and community education program. Most people think those programs are only for GED prep, but they’re actually one of the best kept public secrets for continuing education. Our district runs classes out of empty high school classrooms after school lets out, and they’re funded by property taxes, so they only charge enough to cover materials. Jax signed up for an introductory electrical class there for $20, which covered the cost of the wiring and switches he got to practice on. The class is taught by a working local electrician who does it part time because he likes teaching new people. The program also offers prep for industry certifications like HVAC licensing or medical coding that you can get without a college degree, for a fraction of the cost of a private trade school.
The third resource I pointed him to is the state public workforce development board. Every state has one, funded by federal tax dollars, and most of their services are free for people under 25 or anyone who’s underemployed. Jax made an appointment, they did a free career assessment, and then told him about their free pre-apprenticeship program for construction electricians. The program is 12 weeks, covers all the basics you need to get into a union apprenticeship, and it’s totally free. They even help you with the apprenticeship application, and union apprenticeships pay you a full wage while you train on the job. So Jax will end up learning the trade, getting licensed, and having a full-time job without taking out any student loans at all.
Jax’s mom, my sister, was worried at first. She kept asking if this counted as “real education,” if Jax was falling behind the kids who stuck with college. I told her what I tell all parents who ask me this: education doesn’t only happen at a college. These public options let you learn at your own pace, test out a career before you invest years of time and tens of thousands of dollars into it. A lot of these paths lead directly to jobs that pay just as well, if not better, than many jobs you get with a four-year degree.
If you or your kid are looking for these options, you don’t have to dig through a million confusing websites. First, just stop by your local public library and ask the reference librarian what continuing education resources they offer. Nine times out of 10, they’ll hand you a full list you’ve never seen before. Second, Google your county’s name plus “public school community education” and pull up their course catalog – most post them online three times a year for fall, spring, and summer sessions. Third, Google your state’s name plus “workforce development board continuing education” to find free training and apprenticeship prep. None of these require admission essays or entrance exams.
Jax finishes his introductory electrical class next month, and he’ll start the pre-apprenticeship program in the fall. He still works 20 hours a week at the auto shop, and he’s talking about doing side work fixing small engines for neighbors once he gets more experience. It’s not a straight, neat path like the four-year college plan he started with. There’s no guarantee he’ll stick with electrical forever – he might decide he wants to go to college for something else in five years, and that’s fine. What’s working right now is that he’s learning, he’s not in debt, and he’s building a life that fits what he wants, instead of checking a box everyone else tells him he has to check. These public options aren’t advertised much, so most people don’t know they exist. But for kids who don’t fit the traditional college mold, they’re right there, waiting.
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