SALEM – A lifetime learner, Janet Thomas of Kingfield takes college courses that she deems significant to help her students aspire.

But a community college course offered at Mt. Abram means this 50-plus, SAD 58 education technician doesn’t need to travel as far to pursue courses. A 15-minute drive to Mt. Abram from her home in Kingfield is much easier for her than the courses she took in Farmington, she said.

“It’s very convenient, especially for the population in our area,” she said as she spoke recently about an advanced English course she is taking from Central Maine Community College.

There have been anywhere from three to five satellite sites in Franklin County since 2005, said her instructor, Kirsten Brown Burbank, who teaches basic and advanced English. Another class for more technical writing gives students the opportunity to write proposals.

The present course leans toward business communication with a taste of writing resumes and following through the job process. So, it was only fitting for her class to take a field trip recently to the Career Center in Wilton. Her students are realizing resumes are a work in progress, she said. As their lives change, they begin to understand how to add to it.

At the center, the students were introduced to an online program called ONet that shows different professions and the skills needed for them plus an idea of what income to expect from that job, said Thomas.

Area businesses have agreed to review the students resumes and offer feedback, said Patty Ladd from the state CareerCenter. Bath Iron Works, the University of Maine at Farmington, NotifyMD and Western Maine Community Action are involved, she said. The businesses are excited about opportunities for community college courses, Ladd said.

“Education is making them more qualified,” she said. “There are so many things that continually change, especially with technology. It’s a life-long learning process.”

The companies that used to employ people for 20-30 years no longer exist, Burbank said, so courses are geared toward helping people find their passion in life and something that will sustain them in a rural economy.

The local community college sites, said Burbank, offer students, who have been away from the classroom for years, the opportunity to return where they can feel comfortable in a local setting. As students continue taking classes, they gain confidence and trust their own learning abilities which can lead them to classes at UMF and the University of Augusta.

Most classes needed to get a degree are available without leaving the county, she added.

The community college courses are not just for adults, she added. SADs 9 and 58 have contributed to tuition for any junior or senior ready to take a course, she said.