CANYONS HELPING BUILD CONSTRUCTION-DEGREE PROGRAM.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

VALENCIA - College of the Canyons is offering two new courses in construction intended to meet the industry's growing demand for skilled workers and to lay the foundation for a future degree program.

The classes, which cover project management and the state's uniform building code, would form the basis of a two-year associate's degree program designed to feed into California State University, Fresno's, bachelor's degree program in construction management. That program will be offered at College of the Canyons' University Center, said Gina LaMonica, dean of occupational programs.

``The number of homes being built in this area has shot up tremendously, fueling the demand for skilled workers,'' she said. ``Our goal is to meet that need and boost the skilled labor pool locally.''

Both classes and the Cal State Fresno program are scheduled to begin in spring 2004.

Construction is a $49.6 billion business in California in 2003, and it's expected to grow to $51.2 billion in 2004, according to the Construction Industry Research Board.

There are some 1,500 construction projects - from patios to housing tracts - active in Santa Clarita, said Ruben Barrera, a city building official. And more projects are in the pipeline, such as the 21,000-home Newhall Ranch subdivision in Los Angeles County jurisdiction.

``Most cities our size won't have that many projects because they're already built out,'' he said.

Alongside the load of local building projects is a growing demand for qualified construction professionals, said Barrera, who will teach one of the courses.

``Right now, there is a shortage of qualified building inspectors,'' he said. ``We're in the field working with contractors and builders. We get that question asked all the time - 'How do you get certified as a building inspector?' We would refer them to classes outside of the city.''

LaMonica said it would take at least a year for the construction classes to sprout into a full-fledged degree program.

``We have to see what the demand is,'' she said. ``It just depends on how successful these courses are, how successful Cal State Fresno's program is and what kind of community support we get.''

Despite the ongoing building boom, construction work can be notoriously seasonal. But LaMonica said students would be well-prepared for other jobs in the field.

``We train students for a licensed or certificate exam,'' she said. ``If it's dried up in Santa Clarita, they can take their uniform building code certification to Northern California. You can move around to wherever you're needed.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com