Goodwill of Southwestern Pa. now taking enrollments for online adult classes

Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is now enrolling students in its online adult classes.

The program offers a range of free classes, including sessions that help prepare students to take a high school equivalency test, learn new digital skills, improve their ability to speak English and to prepare for the U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization test.

“There’s so much more to enrolling in Goodwill Education classes beyond getting your GED or improving your knowledge of the English language,” Laurie Cybulski, assistant director, education and training at Goodwill, said in a news release. “Our programs can help our students find new jobs, make more money, take that next step toward college training programs, or many other important positive steps.”

Those interested in taking courses this year can learn more about potential classes at goodwillswpa.org/education.

Two information sessions for GED and HiSet preparation classes will be conducted via Zoom beginning next month, the first scheduled for Feb. 4 from 6 to 7 p.m. and the second for Feb. 5 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Classes are offered during the day, in the evenings and on Saturdays.

In addition to preparing students for the test, the class also offers other services, including assistance with computer classes, resume writing, searching for jobs and practicing for interviews. Assistance such as GED test scholarships is also available to those who qualify.

Registration for the classes and the Zoom sessions can be found at goodwillswpa.org/ged or by calling 1-877-499-3526.

Registration is also open for English as a Second Language classes, which can be found at goodwillswpa.org/esl. The classes, which focus on listening, speaking and pronunciation, are open to all levels of English speakers. Some ESL classes also focus on citizenship and naturalization.

Workshops are also offered, which focus on Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as Google Workspace. Those can be found at goodwillswpa.org/digital.

Several people took advantage of the classes offered by Goodwill last year, with 400 total enrolled students. Of that, almost 330 attended their classes virtually. Also during 2020, 26 students received their high school equivalency degree, several of whom found jobs immediately after while others moved on the post-secondary schools.