MISSION COLLEGE : Center Trains Older Students

For some Mission College students, the computer age begins at 55.

The college’s business and professional center in San Fernando offers a free program that trains students 55 and older for entry-level careers as office workers.

The program, funded by a $120,000 grant from the Los Angeles City Job Training Partnership Act, is geared for successful matchups between students and local businesses, said Soni DeSantis, program coordinator.

Students receive 270 hours of instruction and help with job placement and resume writing when the course is completed.

Enrollment is continuous, although openings fill up quickly. About 30 students are in the program now. In addition, DeSantis said, class sizes are small and schedules are flexible.

Students “work at their own pace,” she said. “But we feel we’d like them to work 15 to 20 hours a week.” DeSantis said the program, which started last year, already has made several successful matches. One example is that between Betty Gardner, 68, of Mission Hills and a law office near her home.

“I had been laid off at J.C. Penney’s and everyplace I went they wanted computer experience,” Gardner said. “So, I went to L.A. Mission College.”

After she successfully completed the program, Gardner said she immediately landed a secretarial job at the Mission Hills law office of Laing & Fox.

“We had gone through a couple of flaky receptionists and employees we couldn’t rely on,” said John Laing, a partner in the firm. “We wanted someone with more maturity. We wanted someone familiar with computers.”

Most students who enroll in the program need jobs. But a few, like Lois Miesels, 63, of Arleta, want to brush up on their skills.

Miesels, who wanted to learn how to use a computer given her by her daughter, applauded the special attention offered to students by the program’s instructors.

“That was very important to me, to all of us,” she said. ‘