Clinton to View Valley College Jobs Program

President Clinton will visit a job-training program at Valley College in Van Nuys on Tuesday during a two-day Western trip intended to regenerate momentum for his economic program.

“We wanted to emphasize the job-training aspect of the President’s economic program and they had a very good program of retraining skilled workers to keep them in high wage jobs,” a White House aide said Friday.

“We haven’t been to the Valley. We wanted to make sure we’re touching as many communities as we can.”

Clinton will be accompanied by Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown during a one-hour stop at the community college that is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Brown has been designated the Administration’s liaison to California as the state seeks to regain its economic footing.

“He’s going to get a tour of some of the training facilities and then speak with some of the students,” the White House aide said. “He will talk and then answer questions.”

A community college representative said Clinton will visit Valley College’s computer-assisted design classrooms, where students learn sophisticated techniques of tool-and-die manufacturing and computer machining. Clinton also plans to speak to students and graduates about the job-training facility, he said.

“These facilities are designed to train people to move immediately into industry once they graduate,” said Fausto Capobianco, director of public affairs and government relations for the Los Angeles Community College District.

Capobianco said Clinton will visit the college because it is the largest of the nine community colleges and “it’s centrally located and it has a wide diversity of students.”

Clinton and Brown will then make an appearance in South-Central Los Angeles, where they are expected to highlight the Administration’s proposals for reviving inner-city neighborhoods as well as its general economic plan. That site was not disclosed Friday.

Statewide officeholders and the region’s congressional representatives were also invited to join Clinton during the visit.

The last time Clinton came to the Valley area was during a post-election trip to the Galleria shopping mall in Glendale. He was enthusiastically received by a crush of shoppers and supporters.

On Monday, Clinton is scheduled to visit New Mexico to speak at the Los Alamos National Laboratory about the Administration’s high-technology policies and his plans for conversion of defense-related industries to civilian work. He will hold a television town meeting later that day in San Diego.

Also contributing to this story was Times staff writer Alicia Di Rado.