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Show J ' . ; I"- ' V - STUDENTsTrECEI VE instruction on use of computers com-puters at the Uintah Basin Area Vocational Center in Roosevelt. Courses are also taught in Vernal. Interest in computer technology is constantly con-stantly growing in the area. Vocational Center attempts to meet community needs The most important purpose of the Uintah Basin Area Vocational Center is to meet the needs of the community, according ac-cording to Keith Bergquist, director of the Center. "Too often administrators consider public property their own little domain," Berg(uist said. "We have attempted to get awa,y from that attitude. This is a state training facililty, belonging to the people of Utah and the Uintah Basin. We think it should be used by them." Besides the educational purpose of the Center, the facility is also used for public meetings, first aid training by area EMT's, prenatal exercise every Thursday Thurs-day evening, annual Holiday and Farm Fairs, and graduation exercises. A "mall" area directly inside the main entrance to the building is where most of these activities take place. This is an open area set down a couple of steps from the walkway surrounding it. The "mall" is normally a lounge for students' use. When the tables are removed, seating can be adequately arranged for 200 people. "We had to fight for this area in the building plans," said Bergquist, "but it has been a great addition to the Center." There are two main wings to the Vocational Voca-tional Center. One is devoted to technical and industrial training, the other to business and professional training. The technical and industrial hall provides training in building trades, printing, drafting, leather, welding, plumbing, electrical, ironworking, power plant operations, auto and diesel mechanics and the only petroleum program in the state. An industrial electricity program is proposed pro-posed for next year. The business and professional wing offers of-fers training in nursing, accounting, management marketing, communications, communica-tions, computer training, office occupations occupa-tions and real estate- A unique aspect of the Center is the many seminars and workshops held on specific areas of interest and need. According Ac-cording to Beverly Evans, program coordinator coor-dinator for the Center, these seminars and workshops are meant to meet specific needs of the business and industrial in-dustrial community of the area. Mrs. Evans said the Center attempts to meet all needs of the community. Should a particular par-ticular business have need for a specific workshop, they should contact the Center. If enough interest can be generated, a workshop will be arranged. Most of the courses taught through the Vocational Center can be transferred for credit to other technical colleges. Many of the courses can also be taken for college col-lege credit through the Utah State Extension Exten-sion Service. At the present time there are three areas of study which are extremely popular. These include computer training, train-ing, power plant operation and petroleum industry training. Computer training is available both in Roosevelt and Vernal, although facilities are somewhat limited in Vernal. Utah State University has requested $233,000 from the state legislature to fund additional addi-tional computer facilities and instructors in order to offer a bachelor of science degree in computer science. According to Dennis Gamer, head of the business department, the demand for computer classes is overwhelming. Gamer said they had hoped to get 10 people interested in order to hold one class for the current quarter in Vernal, but ended up with three classes and about 40 students. The power plant operations course is extremely popular in this area because of the energy related industries in the Uintah Basin. Power plants require special training. Industry must either hire people who have had such training or must train their employees themselves. Mrs. Evans says the pro gram is extremely successful because of the savings to industry to hire pre-trained pre-trained individuals. The petroleum program at the UBAVC was recently awarded a National Award of Achievement for the Center's success in meeting community needs. The program pro-gram deals with all techniques presently present-ly used by the petroleum industry. The groundwork has already been completed to offer courses related to the oil shale industry. Those courses will be offered when production begins in oil shale. College Col-lege graduates, individuals already employed by petroleum companies, as well as students have been involved in the petroleum courses. The Vocational Center is much more than courses. GED testing is offered to help people with career orientation. This testing is open to the general public as well as currently enrolled students. A major concern, according to Mrs. Evans, is to train people how to get a job. Too many people are qualified for the work they apply for, but are unable to make a good enough impression in a job interview to get hired. Sometimes pre-employment pre-employment training is as important in getting a job as a person's vocational training. Vocational rehabilitation is another service offered by the Vocational Center. Many times people who have been fired find it very difficult to find another job. People who have been unemployed for a long period many times also have a great deal of difficulty getting hired. The UBAVC attempts to help these people overcome the problems they have in order for them to again become produc- tive in society. There are currently 591 students enrolled in the UBAVC in Roosevelt and 191 students enrolled in Vernal. Funding comes from a combination of state funding, school district funding (for high school students who are enrolled) , and tuition which each student pays. The land for the Roosevelt Center was donated by the Duchesne County School District. The building was constructed with money from state appropriations. Other buildings have been rented and even donated for use by the Vocational Center. The UBAVC attempts to go where the demand is most accommodated. The Vernal diesel program and the power plant training programs are examples of this. When the Center was arranging to put a new diesel program into effect the administration found the need was in the Vernal area. A building was found and the course was offered in Vernal. The power plant program must use power plant facilities for training purposes. On-site On-site training is a big portion of this program. |