Innovation and growth continues to guide West Hills College Lemoore programs

All of the new programs are “academies” that are scheduled for working adults and in short-term courses, quickly and conveniently concluded.

Introduction to Industrial Automation is an 18-unit certificate of achievement, pending Chancellor’s Office approval, developed in partnership with industry in the area, including Faraday Future, Olam, VF Outdoor, Central Valley Meat Co., and others.  This program is designed to give students the skills they need to help fill the considerable employment gaps that exist in manufacturing in the region. 

“This new certificate program is critical to meet the needs of our industry in the south-central Valley,” said the Dean of Career Technical Education, Kris Costa, dean of Career Technical Education at West Hills College Lemoore. “This is the result of lots of work with our manufacturers in the region who have designed this program to be what they need in their plants every day.”

Building upon the already existing Networking and Programming Academies, Introduction to Cybersecurity is a new certificate program, pending Chancellor’s Office approval, that embeds CompTIA Security + certification in the coursework.  Students will have hands-on experience is informational assurance, Linux, and computer forensics. Industry experts currently teach in the field.

This field is growing daily with an increased need for these cybersecurity experts regionally. 

Christopher Leach, Chief Technology Officer at Diamond Student Information Systems, sees this field as too essential to pass up.

“Cybersecurity has incredible opportunities for students in the valley,” he said. “The needs for trained employees in the industry is great, and these programs can give students the skills they need to get to work in the growing field.”

Managers of business and information technology have long placed importance on the skills of project management.  West Hills College Lemoore’s 18-unit Project Management fully online academy prepares students to become project managers in a variety of fields.  Kings County farmer and longtime businessman, Tony Oliveira, wanted to build this program at the college for the many people that are working in the valley that need these skills in their current work. 

“Project Management is a skill that every professional needs,” he said. “It is how businesses get work done in our economy.” Students enrolled in the online program include CEO’s of companies, IT Directors, and business development professionals.

Collaborating with its sister college in Coalinga, West Hills College Lemoore has also developed an Agriculture Business program in Ag Sales and Marketing.  This 15-unit certificate, pending Chancellor’s Office approval, was established in partnership with leaders in Kings County’s agriculture community. 

Dino Giacomazzi, Owner of Giacomazzi Farms in Hanford, sees the importance of these skills every day.

“Our young people need to understand the importance of agriculture for our communities,” he said. “New agriculture businesspeople need these skills so that they can tell the story of agriculture and its importance to our society and continue to produce and market the safest food supply on the planet.”  The Ag Sales and Marketing Academy instructors are experts in the field with years of experience in the agriculture industry.