Grant funding secured by MiraCosta College is supporting 30 students through the new Affordable Housing Management certificate program.
The program was created through a collaboration between the college’s Short-Term Vocational Program, ConAm Management Corporation and the San Diego Housing Federation, the region’s strongest advocate for more affordable housing.
Thanks to a $80,000 state grant, MiraCosta offered to pay tuition for students from the management classes to complete three real estate exam preparation courses at the college’s Technology Career Institute.
To obtain a certificate from the Affordable Housing Management program, students must complete two four-week courses offered in a hybrid and online format. Each course is limited to 20 students so learners can complete the certificate as a cohort.
Future paid internships are being developed through a collaboration with the housing federation and the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
Since its launch in Fall 2022, the program has graduated 55 students. Adult learners represented 76% of the students, while 69% were people of color and 84% were female.
Marisol Martinez, a stay-at-home mother to four children, was in the program’s first cohort. When she completed the course, she applied for a temporary job as a leasing agent through a staffing agency. She was placed at Azure Point, a 55-and-older community in Encinitas. The post turned into a permanent job as an assistant manager.
“It’s ideal,” she said. “I’m definitely learning and I’m preparing myself faster for a property manager position.”
For more information on the certificate program, contact Erica Duran at eduran@miracosta.edu. Fall registration begins Aug. 19. Students may register online.