SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET : REPORTS FORM THE FIELD : Learning a Trade Without College

After graduating from high school in his native Canada, Chris Pepper took a few college courses and “did a little bit of everything” to make a living, including working for his father making contact lenses. When Pepper finally decided on a career, he didn’t want to take the time to go to college.

Instead, he said recently, he enrolled in a program of mainframe computer operations and management at Computer Learning Center in Los Angeles--a for-profit trade school. Five years after completing the program, he is a senior manager at Errico Technologies, a Los Angeles software research and development company recently purchased by Price Waterhouse.

The American workplace is changing rapidly--increasingly requiring better-educated workers but not necessarily college-educated workers. The route to high-paying jobs taken in years past by high school graduates--assembly line work in heavy industry--isn’t much of an option today.

At the same time, technology has taken on greater importance, creating opportunity for those who can operate computers and sophisticated machinery, and for those who can read well and comprehend instructions.

Computer operators and technicians in health care and other fields are examples of plentiful jobs that do not require a four-year college degree. The best of these jobs do require, however, a willingness to spend a couple of years in community college or a few months in a trade school.

Some industries and many labor unions also offer on-the-job apprenticeship programs. Many electricians, for example, entered the profession through apprenticeships. Southern California Edison fills many vacancies in skilled areas from entry-level workers who have been placed in an in-house training program.

The challenge for students looking at for-profit trade schools is to determine which will be useful and which are “diploma mills,” primarily in the business of collecting tuition rather than dispensing education.

“Reputable schools will want to provide information on attrition rates, graduation rates and provide references,” said Dan Parker, spokesman for the California Student Aid Commission.

Another tip: Ask companies in the industry you want to work in, ‘Do you hire graduates from XYZ school?’ ” Parker said.

For those who gain the skills, job opportunities await. Many computer operators are starting at $23,000 a year, said Richard Perry, a Thrifty Drugs computer operator, who graduated from Computer Learning Center last September.

In addition, health care is aching for a variety of workers, said Kathy Barry, director of the Health Careers Information Center. The center was established by the Hospital Council of Southern California to cope with labor shortages in various positions, including many that require a year or two of specialized training.

The center has a public information program to make prospective workers aware of job requirements. “Our goal is to increase the supply of workers for our hospitals by encouraging people to enter health care professions,” she said.

Radiologic technicians and medical records technicians are among the most difficult health care positions to fill, Barry said. Employers generally hire radiologic technicians who have completed a community college program, she said, but some hospitals train their own.

A beginning technologist in Southern California will make about $11.50 an hour, Barry said. But a radiologic technologist trained in a specialty--such as ultrasound technology--will begin at a higher salary, she said. A community college-trained medical records technician will start at about $10 per hour.

Also, the health care industry has a critical need for laboratory assistants and technicians, and medical assistants to help doctors and nurses perform patient tests, review medical records and report changes in patient vital signs, said Judi Hansen, director of regional recruitment services for Kaiser Permanente, the large health maintenance organization.

Entry-level salaries for medical assistants range from $17,600 a year to $20,800, she said; entry-level salaries for laboratory assistants and technicians range from about $17,000 to $23,000.

To help increase the supply of nurses, the information center has referred many prospects to County-USC Medical Center, which operates the only remaining hospital-based diploma program for registered nurses west of the Rockies. The two-year program is similar to nursing associate degree programs at numerous Southern California community colleges, said program director Marilyn Grafton. Students must be residents of Los Angeles County or a neighboring county.

The major difference between RNs trained in two-year programs and those with four-year college degrees is in the opportunities to advance into management, Barry and Grafton said. “You need a BA to be a head nurse. Generally, a master’s degree is required to be head administrator,” Barry said.