Abel Gutierrez has been employed in the food industry for ten years, but it was more than his experience that led him to his current job.

Hired by Hilton Hotels as a Banquet Cook, Gutierrez estimates he was in a pool of more than 20,000 applicants. In order to compete, Gutierrez made the decision to increase education and job training skills by completing a Culinary Arts certificate program with Continuing Education.

The California Employment Development Department projects a 23.5 percent increase in the number of food preparation workers by 2016, which calculates to 6,440 new jobs annually. A record number of people could be applying for these jobs.

Continuing Education is unique to many traditional college programs because it can respond immediately to demands for job growth within identified industries, and the Culinary Arts program is a good example. The professional facilities at West City Campus include a state-of-the art industrial kitchen, and instruction is focused on what students need to know to enter the job market immediately upon completion of the program. Subjects like safe food handling and learning to properly use modern equipment help to ensure the learning environment mirrors the real world, making students good candidates for actual jobs.