As part of a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, El Camino recently launched a program this semester offering supplementary training to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel working at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The program is aimed specifically at Transportation Security Officers, the personnel who manage airport security, Jose Anaya, Dean of Community Advancement, said.

“Homeland Security has asked us to develop courses in three areas to help develop their workforce in the hopes that they’ll (TSA officers) gain the expertise required for their jobs,” Anaya said.

While TSA personnel are not required to take the courses, the TSA pays for student’s registration and books and the courses count toward an associate degree with an administration of justice major.

“The hope is that all TSA officers at LAX will take all three courses, and then hopefully continue their education, in other words transfer to a four year institution or an associate degree,” Anaya said.

The first of the three courses, “Introduction to Homeland Security” began this semester with four sections and 80 students, 90 percent of who intend to continue on to the second course, according to a school press release.

Four sections of the second course, “Intelligence and Security Management” will be offered this spring alongside another two sections of “Introduction to Homeland Security” Craig Neumann, Faculty coordinator of the project, said.

“Each course is a three-unit, semester-long class taught by law enforcement professionals with expertise in these areas,” Neumann said.

The third course, still as yet unnamed, will be offered in the fall 2013 semester and will relate to border security management, Neumann added.

“Once they’ve completed all three courses, they will receive a certificate of accomplishment from the college and we’re discussing adding another three courses they could earn a certificate in, but that’s not finalized yet,” Neumann said.

While the new program is only for the TSA officers working at LAX, it’s only one part of a larger program to provide training for TSA personnel throughout the country.

“The TSA designed this program because they want to maintain standardization, not just in New York, or Illinois, or here, but throughout the whole country,” Neumann said.

Of course, putting academic programs in place for TSA personnel scattered throughout the country is no easy task, Neumann said.

“There are some 60,000 TSA personnel throughout the country, 2,300 of them at LAX alone,” Neumann said, “I had never realized there were that many.”

Once the program is fully implemented, EC will become the largest provider of TSA training in the country, according to information in a school press release.

“The thought for the future is, at some point, to offer these courses to the general public as well,” Anaya said.