Interest in Sector Work: Cerritos College Economic Development provides specialized trainings serving businesses in all sectors of the economy from retailers to aerospace manufacturers. The department is also recognized as an affiliate Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) under the California Community College’s Economic and Workforce Development Program. As the Cerritos CACT, we have focused in manufacturing technologies, material science and machining. Our core competencies are: plastics, composites, welding, computer numeric control, electronics, drafting, computer aided design (MasterCAM/ SolidWorks), automotive, management and quality trainings.
Recently, we have expanded course offerings by developing the wind blade repair training. The curriculum is unique in the Southern California area. The program was developed with industry partners to address the skill sets gap not found in currently available wind technician trainings. Also, despite economic downturn slowing the industry’s development, the need for skilled technicians is increasing with the need to maintain the 30,000 turbines it already has, most of which are in the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles.
The average technician in California earns $40,000 annually, while the experienced workers can earn twice that amount. These jobs are a boon to many of the displaced manufacturing and construction workers, which were hard hit with the economic downturn. As wind turbine infrastructure begins to age and require maintenance, industry leaders are looking to employ qualified technicians to perform the proper maintenance and services at wind farms. |