SYLMAR : Computer Drafting Program Gets Grant

About 20 high school students will participate in a program at Mission College this fall that teaches computer-aided design and drafting, and computer-aided manufacturing.

The federally funded, state-administered program was made possible by a $50,000 grant, said Eloise Cantrell, dean of academic affairs.

“We want to prepare these students to meet the demands of the 21st Century,” Cantrell said. “We wrote this grant as a response to (former) President Bush’s America 2000 challenge, which asked us to . . . help youths get into jobs that are going to enhance their lifestyles.”

The program trains students to use computer software to do on-screen drafting and design and prepares participants for careers in fields that include engineering, design, computer technology and graphic arts. It is called the Tech Prep Computer-Aided Design Technician Training Pilot Program.

“We have the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art engineering lab, which was donated by the Rocketdyne division of Rockwell International,” said Lee Risemberg, who will be teaching the courses at Mission College.

The students, from James Monroe High School in North Hills, will also be taught how to read blue prints, said Risemberg, a bilingual teacher who was born and schooled in Argentina.

Risemberg says 20% to 30% of his college students are professional draftsmen with as many as 15 years of experience who have lost their jobs and found they couldn’t get another one because they were not trained in CADD.

“In the past, both drafting and manufacturing were done manually,” Risemberg said. “With the advent of computers, CADD software and computer-assisted manufacturing software, the engineering and manufacturing industries are changing drastically. People who are not trained in those fields find themselves without a job.”