When in the process of choosing career fields, one might hear an EC student say they are taking a course in law to become a lawyer, drama to become an actor, or biology to become a marine biologist.

However, when was the last time you heard somebody say they are going to take a course in refrigeration and air condition in order to become a service technician? Probably not too often.

More and more students are taking advantage of the vocational courses being offered at EC.

Vocational jobs can include technical based career opportunities, also known as gold collar jobs, many of which EC trains specifically for.

“People can use what they learn here and become service technicians, control technicians, building engineer zor even go into sales,” Vic Cafarchia, Professor of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, said. “You can study heating, electrical, plumbing and different systems.”

Courses aimed to fill these “gold collar” technical jobs are typically concluded in a year and a half, if completed by taking day courses.

“There are a lot of students interested in it (learning a skilled set),” an EC counselor said. “It is a quick way to get a job.”

Along with air conditioning and refrigeration, courses in computer numerical controls (CNC) precision cutting are offered as well.

CNC operators and programmers are taught the skills that are required to work for prestigious companies.

“My brother stumbled onto the CNC course and he liked it and now he is working at Northrop Grumman,” said current student Evelyn Diaz.

Having one of the biggest technical shops in Southern California has helped EC to expose its students to real world hands-on experience.

It is that same experience that has attracted many companies to call upon EC students to fill open positions once they become available.

“About ninety-eight percent of our students are placed in jobs, and some jobs pay up to $15 to $30 dollars an hour,” Cafarchia said. “I get at least one to two calls per week from companies asking if I have somebody to send them.”

As technology changes, technical jobs must adapt with it as well. Although large in size, technical instructors want to make the shop room more adapt to “green technology”. Because of the concern of global warming, refrigeration and cooling systems that have less of an impact on the ozone layer have developed. The new technology calls for a new workforce of people to step up and learn how to fix it, and EC hopes to develop the skills with students to meet that demand.