COLLEGE PLANS INCLUDE MORE JOB TRAINING CAMPUS, BUSINESS TO TEAM.

Byline: Naugh Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - In its vision to train the valley's future work force, the College of the Canyons is pursuing partnerships with area businesses - a long-range plan it outlined in its master plan.

The college, recognizing its role in a growing community with work force needs, plans to train residents to keep them current in their jobs.

``Baby boomers don't save so they'll be working forever and that's an unlimited source of employment,'' said Dianne G. Van Hook, superintendent-president of the college. ``The vast majority in the work force now will be in the work force 20 years from now, and with scientific technology and knowledge explosion, you can't be in the same job if you don't continue to learn things.''

Consultants interviewed faculty and staff from 79 departments, surveyed local businesses, and observed educational and training trends to develop the academic master plan. The plan will guide the college's education planning through the year 2010 and outline the programs the college hopes to deliver during the next 10 years.

``In the last few years, we gathered predictive data on the community like population growth, change in demographics, the kinds of careers and occupations needed in and around the community, and that tells us what kind of training and education is needed,'' said Sue Bozman, a college spokeswoman.

Based on the findings, the college outlined the technology, staffing, funding and facilities it would need to provide the required courses.

``Our job is to prepare people to go into the work force, to retrain them when there's the opportunity and to prepare them to transfer to universities,'' Van Hook said.

In the last several years, the college has increased its number of certificate and degree programs in addition to updating and expanding existing programs to accommodate a growing demand in their education and training.

The school increased majors from 26 to 58 and its certification programs from 19 to 45 during the past decade, Van Hook said. The school offers 1,213 courses and foresees a continued growth.

``It's our responsibility to continue to fill the community's needs in the areas of education and training and to do it in an aggressive way,'' Van Hook said.

Manufacturing, film and entertainment, building development, aerospace, education, and biotechnology are the six most significant industries that are growing, and the school must determine the kinds of majors needed to staff these fields.

Until recently, the college didn't even offer courses in biotechnology, which is growing rapidly.

``Now, it's just zooming along, and we're expecting that to grow a lot,'' Bozman said. ``With the influx of biotech companies to Santa Clarita, that's an industry we know we'll be serving more.''

The master plan allows the college flexibility to adjust with the changing times, by offering courses like e-commerce or marketing and business on the Internet.

The city has identified the College of the Canyons as one of the entities that attracts businesses to the area because of its efforts to establish joint training programs.

In 1996 the college had training partnerships with five businesses and a year later, with more than 200.

To address the teaching and nursing shortages in the community, the college designed two programs for students training in those fields.

The college also formed a partnership with Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, in which students can train at the hospital in a nursing training facility created just for the school.

College officials see the thriving community as an opportunity to influence the local economy - one missed in 1988 when the college didn't interact with the community and had very few programs for work force training.

``It was a missed opportunity because of the job and housing balance here - there were not a lot of jobs. But now, job creation is strong and steady,'' Van Hook said. ``We can influence the economic development of the region by attracting employers to the valley.''