South Bay : Program Places Graduates in Jobs

Some are single mothers on welfare, others were victims of layoffs, but on Friday more than 100 students marked an end to those days.

The graduates of the National Education Center, Bryman campus in Torrance celebrated completion of an eight-month medical assistants program that will send them back to work.

The students have been prepared to work for doctors and dentists through a vocational training program that is largely underwritten by the federal government, said Judy Kavanaugh, executive director of the program.

Upon graduation, the students are placed in jobs at health care facilities and hospitals where they earn between $7 to $10 an hour.

“The program helps them change their life and feel good about what they are doing,” said Kavanaugh. “It gives them skills that they can use for the rest of their life.”