The first two-year Manufacturing Engineering Technology program in California opens this fall Downtown at City College. The program is in response to the increasing demand for highly skilled technicians and engineers in the manufacturing sector. It will provide students hands-on experience in all aspects of a manufacturing enterprise, from materials and processes to safety, design, automation, quality and lean manufacturing. Graduates should find jobs paying $30,000 to $50,000 a year.

City College graduates are in demand, because, explains Armando Abina, dean of Math, Engineering, and Technologies, “we develop our educational programs working directly with industry professionals to target the jobs in demand in today’s manufacturing technology market.”

Truc Ngo, a chemical engineer who worked at Intel until joining the school two years ago, leads the effort. Ngo expects it to expand to other specialized fields like nanotechnology, biotechnology and semiconductor and hopes her presence will inspire more women to pursue engineering and technology careers. Companies on the program’s advisory board include Goodrich Aerostructures, Delta Design, Kyocera, Sony, Jabil Circuit, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Chem-Tronics, Remec, Nokia, SMS Technologies, Solar Turbines and NASSCO.