Cognizant & Maricopa Community Colleges Partner

Cognizant, a Fortune 500 technology company, announced its partnership with Maricopa Corporate College (MCOR) and the Maricopa Community Colleges at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the company’s new Mesa location on Thursday, August 9. See related azcentral story.

At the event, Cognizant announced that its new office will bring 500 additional jobs to the area, boosting Cognizant's Arizona workforce to nearly 3,000 employees.

To help fill these positions, Cognizant partnered with MCOR to provide non-credit training to more than 250 individuals over the next year. These accelerated training programs are offered at no cost to the participant and include a guaranteed job interview with Cognizant upon successful completion.

Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona Commerce Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Sandra Watson, and DK Sinha, President, Global Client Service, Cognizant were among the speakers at the August 9 ribbon-cutting event. Interim Rio Salado College President Kate Smith attended on behalf of the Maricopa Community Colleges.

After the ribbon cutting, Kate Smith and MCOR Chief Operating Officer Patti O’Brien participated in a roundtable discussion on workforce needs with several major employers in Arizona. Patti O’Brien was a featured presenter at the roundtable followed by representatives from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

MCOR is a service of Rio Salado and the Maricopa Community Colleges.

Pictured above: Rio Salado Interim President Kate Smith joins Cognizant Executive Vice President of Global Client Services DK Sinha, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO Sandra Watson and others for a ribbon cutting ceremony at new Cognizant Mesa facility.