[KHTS] – College of the Canyons Career Technical Education courses prepare students for many in-demand jobs, but some classes aren’t filling up.

There are about 30 CTE courses, but some of the programs that lead to readily available jobs are not well known, said Kristin Houser, dean of the CTE department at COC.

“Sometimes I get frustrated when I see these classes not filling up because these programs can lead to great jobs,” Houser said. “There’s a handful of programs that people don’t really know we have and for the most part people don’t think about jobs in those industries.”

Houser said many of these courses prepare students for careers in industries that do not advertise themselves well or have negative reputations.

“Something like plumbing, people think it’s a dirty, low tech job, but a lot of manufacturing isn’t a greasy, oily undertaking, they can be very sophisticated jobs,” she added.

Registration began in the beginning of January and continues until classes start Feb. 10, but courses that do not get enough students may be cut as soon as a week before classes begin. Anyone interested in enrolling can visit canyons.edu.

The following CTE courses are looking to add students, many in the introductory courses:

Solar Energy Technician: Leads to employment as an installer of solar panels or solar thermal systems. The program will prepare students for the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) exams in Entry Level Solar Thermal and Entry Level Photovoltaic.

Plumbing Technology: Students will gain a broad knowledge of different types of plumbing systems, including design installation and maintenance, according to the course catalog.

Electronic Systems Technology: Students prepare for a career in the electrical service industries including data network services, telecommunication services, audio/video service and home security systems, according to the catalog.

Land Surveying: Prepares students for a career where their work can be used to establish legal boundaries to prepare maps and exhibits, and write descriptions of land tracts that satisfy legal requirements, according to the catalog. The program also assists students in preparing for the State Land Surveyor–In-Training and Land Surveyor’s Exams.

Water Systems Technology: Prepares students for work in water supply, distribution, water treatment and how water gets moved around.

Manufacturing Technology Program: Prepares students for a variety of entry-level positions such as manual machine operator, computer numerical control operator, and CAD/CAM designer or programmer. Houser added that because of local aerospace manufacturing, students can find many local job openings.

Construction Management Technology: Provides students with the foundation they need to work in the construction workplace. There are openings in all classes, and there no prerequisites.