Last fall, Audrey Green, dean of program development and community extension at College of the Canyons in Valencia, heard about a growing problem among building contractors tackling the Santa Clarita Valley building boom: they were struggling to find capable help. “There was a severe shortage of land surveyors,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of schools that offer programs. They could not find trained people.” So Green came up with the idea to develop a land surveying course at College of the Canyons, a two-year community college that over the past decade has made a name for itself by quickly adding vocational programs that are in need. A year later, the college has two new programs for the construction trade: construction management and land surveying. “It’s designed for people in the industry who want to move up to management or those who are interested to work in the field,” Green said. The construction management major includes courses on technology, blueprint reading, scheduling and inspections. The land-surveying major, one of only two in Southern California, was introduced this fall and initially has three courses on the trade. In both cases, coursework can be credited towards a certificate of achievement or as part of a degree, Green said. So far, 25 students have taken part in the land-surveying course this fall, with 50 in the construction program. Well-paying Green said the land-surveying major has been in strong demand so far because many older workers are retiring without anyone to fill the space. “It’s not something that most students think about doing,” she said. “But it’s not just getting out there with a little tripod. It’s very math-oriented. And it pays very well. There’s a huge opportunity there.” Bill Kennedy, president of the Valley Industrial Association of Santa Clarita, said the increase in building projects in the area have made qualified land surveying and construction managers a challenge to find. “There’s a great need for it,” he said. “Santa Clarita is booming.” He said the programs are a good example of what College of the Canyons has done well for years: adding programs that the quickly expanding area need. “They’ve been very responsive in the past,” said Kennedy, who is also the vice president of sales for the Valencia building supply company Gruber Systems Inc. “They are very attuned to local community needs.” Similar construction and surveying vocational courses are offered at Los Angeles Valley College, California State University Northridge and Pierce College. +the white-hot Santa Clarita real estate market readjusts. The area for years has been one of the fastest growing in Los Angeles County, adding thousands of new tract homes and dozens of ground-up office parks and retail centers every year. But in recent years that boom has shifted. A study released last month by the California Economic Forecast found that new home sales were down 78 percent from the same 2005 period. As of third quarter 2006, new home sales were at their lowest level since 1990, although commercial construction remains strong. Despite mixed numbers, Green is optimistic that North L.A. County will weather the slowdown and construction jobs and surveyors will still be in demand. “Construction, at least in North L.A. County, is not going away,” she said, referencing the massive Newhall Ranch Community Development Project in Valencia and Tejon Ranch project in the Antelope Valley. And since the real estate market operates in cycles, Green said a wobbly market today could be a thriving market next year. In this respect, trained land surveyors and construction managers will also be in demand, she said. “They do land boundaries; they do legal descriptions,” she said. Green said College of the Canyons is already looking at additional vocational programs, possibly in building inspections, and expanding its automotive technology and electrician training programs. She said it makes sense to pay attention to what’s needed in the community. “That’s our job: to look at economic development and see where the economy is going,” she said. “That’s what we do.” College of the Canyons Programs Land Surveying Surveying 101: Introduction to Land Surveying Surveying 102: Advanced Land Surveying Construction Management Construction 101: Introduction to Construction and Construction Engineering Construction 103: Blueprint Reading for Construction Construction 104: The Construction Process-Planning and Scheduling Construction 108: Introduction to Construction Inspection and Codes For more information, call (661) 259-7800 or visit canyons.edu. Source: College of the Canyons
