Specialized schools, programs reshaping careers

Like many battling the recession, Clayton Jones was thrust into a life change. The onetime Republic Services driver suffered an on-job injury in 2010, preventing him from continuing his 12-year career. Jones, now 47, had a decision to make: either take a lump sum buyout for the injury or retrain his skill set for another career. He chose the latter and has no regrets.

Jones enrolled in the Las Vegas Professional Institute of Technology and Accounting software center. The school, opened in the midst of the recession, is a resource for both employers and individuals looking to further their technology skills.

Through LV-PITA, over the past year Jones has received several CompTIA (Computer Technology Industry Association) certifications, including A-Plus, which covers basic hardware functions and troubleshooting problems on machines; Security-Plus; and Net-Plus, a certification that allows him to troubleshoot an organization's network problems. He is in the process of completing a computer server certification as well.

"I was a slot tech years back. The main reason I chose this field is I did have that little bit of background work with motherboards. I thought it would be a good fit for me," he said.

The best part about Jones' decision is that after only a year of schooling, he had two job offers. He recently chose a position with a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment that has an office in Las Vegas.

Jones' former employer paid for his $18,000 in education expenses, as Jones buckled down and worked toward a new career. The down side is that his new salary is about 40 percent lower than what he was earning as a driver at Republic Services, he says. But the husband and father is excited about the up-side potential with his new company and career.

"I just have to get in there and prove myself, work my way back up," he said.

"I'm starting as an associate tech, but I can move up pretty quickly. It's just about how quickly I catch on."

Laurie Clemens, LV-PITA's director, has seen plenty of people like Jones. About 90 percent of her clients are job seekers or displaced workers looking to get that extra edge. The school also offers Cisco, Adobe and Quick Book certifications, among others.

Clemens also is seeing a boost from the medical community, as doctors' offices are sending employees in for training on electronic records software to meet compliance requirements likely to kick in with federal health reform policies in 2014.

LV-PITA opened its doors in 2009 and is the brainchild of Clemens and her husband, Steve. In a few short years they have been able to establish a strong book of business. On average, the school sees between 50 and 60 students a week, and its career services department, which helps students with resumes and interviewing skills, is busier than ever, Clemens said.

"Specialty schools right now are a good niche. People don't necessarily want to go back and get a degree and don't want to really spend that much time in school," she said. "It (specialty training) can help you get a foot in the door."

Michael Spangler, dean of College of Southern Nevada's School of Advanced and Applied Technologies, oversees a collection of programs including information technology, media and video technology, graphic design and trade programs like welding, automotive engineering and air conditioning.

Jobs in demand today, he said, include slot technicians, automotive and air conditioning technicians and the school's electronic engineering program graduates. Demand for diesel technicians and collision repair also is hot, he said. Diesel technicians can work on anything from trucks to bulldozers to other specialized equipment. And with the many advances in diesel technologies in the past decade, those with the latest knowledge are highly coveted. Spangler emphasizes the extremely technical nature of the automotive programs, too.

"These are not your shade-tree mechanics anymore. Grease monkeys need not apply," he explained.

The electronics engineering or air conditioning technician programs have about 300 students in them at any given time. The demand is there to handle two to three times that, Spangler estimates.

In many of these fields, after acquiring a two-year degree, Spangler estimates employees can be making in the range of $50,000 annually to start. The College of Southern Nevada also offers some certification programs to help students get into entry-level positions in some fields.

"A (full) degree lets you flesh out the rest of the skills. … In a field like automotive, you can start with a certification to get a job, but to be a full-fledged diagnostic technician, typically you need to go two years full time," he said.

Beyond technical

While technology is getting its share of attention from job seekers, there are other specialty fields still looking for help. Anthony Williams, campus president of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas, said at any given time the school will have 400 to 800 students attending it, a rate pretty consistent with prerecession years.

The school offers two 12-month programs that run roughly $20,000 each. They are a culinary arts certification and a patisserie and baking certification. The patisserie program is only offered two to three times a year, while the general certificate has about eight start dates. Only about 20 percent of the students at the school opt for the patisserie program, but the slots fill up quickly.

"People see these 'Cupcake Wars' (and other TV programs). … It drives a lot of interest," Williams said.

The campus leader also said a significant portion of his enrollees are 18- to 20-year-olds as well as those looking for a career change.

"We have those folks who were in real estate or sold cars and naturally had a passion for cooking," he said.

As far as job placement is concerned, about half of the graduates of a particular class will usually seek work locally, but there is a good portion that has no intention of staying in Las Vegas at all.

"Some classes will have a significant amount of people who want to get away from here. They go through this with the full intention of getting back to Mississippi to the family's restaurant," he said.

Julie Reed, owner of Las Vegas School of Floral Design, also sees a unique mix of students. About a third of her students are those who are already in the floral industry and retraining, another third are flower shop owners looking to add floral design to their offerings and the rest are either those dabbling with the notion of getting into the business or just hobbyists.

Reed's school, which has been in town for about 15 years, is certified by the American Institute of Floral Designers and offers two design certificates: basic and advanced. The 80-hour programs cost about $1,200 and can be completed in a month.

Reed also said those who choose to go into the business must be driven to succeed. And many who already have flower shops see the effort required to do the job well and end up reconsidering going into it after all.

"We have those who own flower shops and were maybe investors in them before. But now they can't afford to pay the employees. So now they are needing to learn about the business," she said. "As soon as they finish the classes they usually realize this is a lot of work."

While the floral design and events planning industry has gone through its share of consolidation, Spangler said there are still roughly 50 floral design majors in CSN's program at any given time.

"When you look at the weddings, the Bellagio and what's done out there, in Las Vegas that really is a huge industry," he added.

Another huge industry for this city is skin care. As part of a continuing national expansion program, National Laser Institute, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., will open a Las Vegas facility. The exact site will be confirmed in September.

The institution focuses on providing academic excellence in laser and medical aesthetics education.

Last year, according to Louis Silberman, president and co-founder of National Laser Institute, "some 30 million laser, intense pulsed light, known as IPL, and aesthetic treatments were performed, totaling over $8 billion. It's quite apparent to me that, now more than ever, we're on the cutting edge of a job market that demands experienced laser and medical aesthetic technicians. It's definitely an exploding industry."

National Laser Institute's featured course in Las Vegas will be its seven-day program for physicians and nurses, including training in Botox, dermal fillers and cosmetic laser treatments. The school also will offer courses to aestheticians and career-change individuals at the same Las Vegas location. The latter is an 11-day laser-training program focusing on becoming a cosmetic laser technician.

Public versus private

Choosing a private versus a public school specialty program usually comes down to weighing time and money. Private specialty schools tend to hone in on the exact curriculum of the interested subject area, whereas a community college program may weave the subject matter into an associates degree program requiring basic writing, math, science and social science classes as well. It takes longer in the latter situation to get the degree and what you save in time at a private institution tends to be spent in up-front costs.

"Our program is more appealing to people who don't want to spend entire semesters at CSN," Reed said about her floral certificates.

Spangler said with the many programs he mentioned, a two-year degree will cost around $5,000. Many students also are currently employed and are on a part-time, four- or six-year track.

He asserts that, in many cases, time can work to one's favor, especially when taking on complex or technical information. And he even argues that some very technical programs simply should not be fast tracked at all.

"That's the problem we have with some of these for-profit institutions and these condensed programs. It doesn't always translate well into an eight- to 10-month assimilation. Sometimes the time it really takes is two years," he added.

For programs like Le Cordon Bleu, Williams said its curriculum is based strictly off of feedback from the industry and is designed to create graduates who can respond to those current needs. About 90 percent of the school's students graduate in the one-year time frame. Others may take another six months to complete their certificate. Employment placement rates vary by degree or certificate program and range from 67 to 85 percent, according to the school's website.

Nonetheless, trade and specialty schools are seeing increased enrollment nationally, specifically private, for-profit institutions that appear to offer a quicker pathway to a job and career. According to a 2010 CNN Money report, national enrollment in for-profit trade or specialty schools jumped to 1.8 million students, up from 365,000 at the start of the recession. Naturally, with more students trying their hand at specialty and technical programs, the default rate also is climbing, the report noted. From 2009 to 2010, it bumped up from 11 to 11.6 percent.

Due diligence

Kate Robison, a spokesperson for the local branch of the Better Business Bureau, cautions anyone enrolling in a private school to do some research first. In the past 12 months, the bureau has seen more than 1,700 inquiries into local vocational schools, a slight increase from the previous year.

The bureau includes culinary, beauty, trucking, bartender, real estate and other schools in the category.

The inquiries indicate more people are asking around before buying into a program. Even still, Robison said students shouldn't get too caught up in the sales pitch or promises of job placement. Many can be quite misleading.

"Any promises they are making, make sure they are willing to put it into a written contract," she added.

Robison also says it's important to ask about drop-out rates, and asking former students about their experiences is also key. Accreditations also are important. Usually, if an institution seeks out accreditation from a state or national trade organization, it is wanting to be in the game of education for the long haul.

Checking complaints at the Better Business Bureau also is recommended. The agency rates companies on 16 different factors, including length of time in operation, size of the company, severity of complaints and others factors.