BANGOR – Aiming to ensure an educated work force, Beal College has created a Continuing Education Division that will offer short, noncredit courses to help underemployed people upgrade current skills and learn new ones.

The classes, which will start in January, will include real estate appraisal, small business and human resource management and computer literacy. Also available will be training for pharmacy, electrocardiogram and physical therapy technicians.

During a news conference on Thursday at the Bangor college, President Allen Stehle said the courses “will help regional employers provide training for their employees, improving productivity and profitability.”

Stehle, who was president from 1984 to 2002, recently took on the leadership role again at the private, accredited school that serves 400 students and offers associate’s and one-year diploma programs in fields such as medical transcription, office management, accounting, early childhood education and law enforcement.

“Economic benefits from our classes will be tangible for both employers and employees,” Stehle said. “The return on investment from the time and the dollars spent learning new skills will have a significant positive impact on the local economy.”

Classes will be held during the day, at night and on weekends and will be reasonably priced, officials said. Most will range from four to six weeks in duration.

Some courses will enable students to become certified or recertified in such areas as CPR and financial planning, while others will provide training in personal finances, advertising and marketing skills and desktop publishing. Also offered will be a basic computer course just for senior citizens.

“For many, these classes will be a step toward furthering careers, increasing income and gaining self confidence,” said Catherine Haskell, vice president for administration, who will oversee the continuing education division.

On-site training will be available for businesses, she said.

People may call the school with ideas for classes, said Haskell, adding that the college is seeking qualified faculty members with unique skills that could benefit the region’s employers or employees.

During the news conference, Candy Guerette, executive director of the Greater Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, praised Beal for its “forward thinking” and predicted that, “the addition of industry specific certification programs will assist this region in developing a world class work force second to none.”

Also announced at the event was the addition of staff member Patricia Keogh who will oversee the Social and Human Services Program.