Often overlooked, vocational education at community colleges is an important resource through which many receive or update their skills. Thanks to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, EC’s vocational education program will be helped, but it still requires more attention from the administration, faculty and students to remain competitive and flourish.

The Industry and Technology Division, which houses the auto technology, cosmetology, electronics and the fire technology programs, among others, has been granted $130,000 in funding from the Perkins Act.

However, budget cuts, which have impacted the entire college, have also hurt the vocational programs. Vocational education desperately needs extra funding to keep its programs running and to update the materials and equipment that are required for students to put into practice what the textbooks teach.

This extra funding will provide a computerized alignment machine for the automotive technology program, 20 self-contained breathing apparatuses for the fire technology program and a sanding machine fort he construction technology program.

This new equipment will improve the learning experience for these students. It will keep them competitive in their respective fields, as they will be familiar with the latest machinery being used in their chosen professions.

Although vocational education will receive $130,000 through the Perkins Act, the funds are insufficient to dramatically change all the programs. In order to create a small, but notable improvement, the funds will be distributed among only six of all vocational programs at EC.

It will be left to each program to submit their petitions. Next, an external review board will evaluate the proposal. Unfortunately for vocational students, program leaders with the most compelling petitions will determine their learning experience.

As part of the college, vocational education deserves the same attention and proportionate distributing of funds as do other departments.

Vocational education, unlike some may think, is not the easy way out of conventional education. Some vocational students are people who have degrees and are already part of the work force, but have chosen to return to school in order to brush up on their skills.

Vocational students also deserve the attention and funding for their programs. Although the budget crisis limits the extent to which all programs are funded, the skills taught by these programs allow for a well-trained community and should be valued not only by the administration with added funds, but by all.