Engineering Fields Smart Choice for Career Selection

CACT @ El Camino College focuses on quality engineering education

HAWTHORNE, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- With a recession in full swing and
unemployment numbers topping the charts, Americans are looking for careers
that are sustainable and in high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistic's 2008-2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook, which inventories and
profiles industry trends, American engineers are looking at normal growth
through 2016. Incoming engineers will be dependent on extraordinary education
to help prepare them for these challenging and lucrative careers.

To help individuals lay a strong foundation for a career in engineering, the
Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) at El Camino College has
partnered with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a not-for-profit educational
program that provides middle and high school students with the rigorous
education they need to develop strong backgrounds in science and engineering.
The PLTW program at El Camino College is called "Engineering Technology" and
offers courses such as Principles of Engineering, Introduction to Engineering
Design and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. "The program is a great start to
providing relevant hands-on activities to stimulate student interest, and
improve success in higher level Math and Science courses," said CACT Director
David Gonzales.

El Camino College's Quick Start Program funded the expansion of the college's
engineering and technology programs, and offers high school students the
ability to earn college credit in the science and engineering fields while
still in high school. To date, 41 courses in robotics and pre-engineering
technology have been added to El Camino's catalog, along with 27 instructors
and partnerships with six high schools serving nearly 1,000 students. "There's
no job that's completely recession-proof," adds Gonzales. "But, students
would be really smart to check out careers in engineering and get started now
with the right coursework." For more information on the CACT @ El Camino's
partnership with PLTW, contact David Gonzales at (310) 973-3170 or
dgonzales@elcamino.edu, or check out our YouTube video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g1JnO_ZPaM

SOURCE Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies

David Gonzales of Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies,
+1-310-973-3170, dgonzales@elcamino.edu