TRUMBULL COUNTY TCTC offers college option

TCTC is no cakewalk, its director says.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- To meet the demands of a changing job market, Trumbull Career and Technical Center tries to give students the option of higher education or entering the work force.
About 41 percent of TCTC graduates go on to college. Others enter the work force.
"There's no career guarantee by going to college," said Diane Jamieson, special education supervisor.
For the last several years, Bureau of Labor Statistics data have shown the highest job growth in the skilled jobs sector, or those with specialized training in high school and/or a two-year degree.
Until the last several years, career and technical education was considered the option for students who didn't excel in the classroom. Students had a class of government and English with the remainder of the day devoted to their vocational program of choice.
That changed in the 1990s when the state altered the requirements for students to graduate from career and technical schools, making those students take more academic courses on top of the vocational ones.
Consequently, TCTC and its counterparts in other counties had to offer more of those academic courses.
"Now it's 50-50," said Gary Hoffman, center director. "Not only do we offer the academic courses, but they're high-end academic courses."
The idea is to prepare students for either college or for the work force.
Requirements
TCTC can't accept students with more than two credit deficiencies, or those with more than two subject areas to make up before graduating. Even those at the two-credit deficiency levy have to enroll in summer school to keep up.
"It's not a cakewalk here," Hoffman said.
Of the 41 percent of TCTC graduates, some choose to pursue four-year degrees and others opt for an associate degree.
Those enrolled in the career pathways to the teaching profession, which started in the last school year, must pursue a bachelor's degree or higher if they decide to become teachers.
"Colleges are taking note of our efforts," Hoffman said.
Youngstown State University has developed cooperative agreements with TCTC in which students enrolled in some programs, including tech prep courses, may earn college credit.
Some students enrolled in restaurant management may start working in restaurants right after graduating while others go on to culinary schools, Hoffman said.
"It opens doors," Jamieson said. "Our career instructors are very good about helping students see the opportunities in different career fields and telling them what they need to do to be a success."