What is the New Orleans Career Center?

Founded in 2017, the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) is an independent nonprofit focused on career preparation in healthcare, hospitality, engineering, and manufacturing. NOCC partners with employers to design high school and adult courses aligned to high-demand employment. NOCC equips trainees with the knowledge, skills, and relationships to step straight onto career paths in the fastest-growing sectors in the region. Programs are open to all Orleans Parish public high school students and to adults 18 and older. Graduates of NOCC are ready to compete – at work and in college – immediately.

Who can attend the New Orleans Career Center and how much does it cost?

The New Orleans Career Center is open to all public high school students in Orleans Parish and to adults 18 or older with a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. High school and adult trainees pay no fees to attend.

How do high school students get into the New Orleans Career Center?

Each spring, NOCC staff visit area high schools to explain the programs, answer questions, and take applications. Rising juniors and seniors apply via their home high schools, which make the final decision of who can attend. Students may also apply directly to NOCC, but all applicants must be on track to graduate. NOCC does not require any additional screening for admission.

How do adults apply for the post-high school Rapid Reskill Training?

Adults can apply and/or be referred by local opportunity centers and community partners, such as Goodwill, Total Community Action, Urban League of LA, Kingsley House, and others. Participants must have a high school diploma, GED, or equivalency. There are no fees to attend.

What careers does the New Orleans Career Center prepare trainees for?

The New Orleans area is expected to see more than 70,000 new mid-skill jobs - those requiring more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree - over the next decade. New Orleans Career Center currently prepares high school students for careers in three sectors projected to see a large portion of this growth: healthcare, hospitality, and engineering/manufacturing. NOCC students graduate with highly competitive credentials and college credits in these high-wage, high-growth areas.

For adults, NOCC offers the Rapid Reskill program, intensive six-week training for adults to retool themselves as Certified Patient Care Technicians (CPCT/A). The CPCT/A credential is often seen as a stepping stone to a nursing career. NOCC will expand and diversify the Rapid Reskill program as employer partners identify training needs in high-demand, high-growth professions.

How does the New Orleans Career Center prepare trainees?

In each of the three high school pathways, students at NOCC gain practical professional skills, earn professional-level industry credentials, experience workplace rotations, develop relationships with area professionals, and earn college credits throughout the school year.

Adult Rapid Reskill trainees undergo a rigorous immersion in hands-on technical skills, experience real clinical settings, interact directly with working professionals, and are guaranteed job interviews with employer partners upon passing the certification exam.

Isn’t this what was once called “vo-tech”?

No. Today, nearly all jobs, regardless of the industry, require a level of technology-based knowledge, generally gained through some form of education or training beyond a standard high school diploma. This is particularly true for high-growth, higher-wage professions. At NOCC, students get that additional knowledge while they’re in high school, by earning professional-level credentials or certifications and transferable college credit. For adults, Rapid Reskill provides technical skills, professional credentials, and are guaranteed job interviews with employer partners upon passing the certification exam are guaranteed job interviews with employer partners upon passing the certification exam. All NOCC trainees are ready to compete in the workforce and college immediately upon graduation.