REYNOLDSVILLE – The Jefferson County-DuBois Area Vocational Technical School has announced the arrival of three new high-skill, high-wage, high-demand programs for students from the surrounding area.
The new options for students are Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R), Drafting, Design and Engineering and Computer Network Engineering. Students may still apply for admission for the 2015-16 school year and select from these exceptional options.
Skilled HVAC/R technicians are in high demand locally and nationally, as 65,000 service technicians will be needed over the next decade. This rapidly expanding industry provides opportunities for advancement and high earning potential.
The program training includes oil heating systems, gas heating systems, heat pumps and air conditioning, air distribution systems and refrigeration. Students learn basic electricity, as it applies to air conditioning, heating and refrigeration units and develop skills required for the design, installation, repair and maintenance of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration units.
Instruction will include: the design and assembly of duct work; hydronic (hot water) piping and installation; charging/evacuating refrigerant lines; and high/low voltage electrical connections.
Instruction will also cover diagnosing unit breakdowns, disassembling and reassembling systems, making adjustments to ensure efficient operations and business practices/customer relations.
The removal and or replacement of parts are done by using torches, electrical meters, testing equipment, gauges and hand tools. Students also learn to read basic blueprints and wiring diagrams.
Various equipment and training simulators are used to teach refrigeration in chilling and freezing systems.
The program also covers many of the basic skills needed in the plumbing trade, including soldering and brazing, providing those students interested an opportunity to pursue a career in plumbing.
The Drafting, Design and Engineering program will instruct students in the use of industry standard software while using one of the most up-to-date drafting laboratories in the area.
Additionally students will be immersed in the Engineering and Design Process. Through this part of the pathway students will work with material and mechanical properties, the fundamentals of physics and be immersed in projects that encompass other technical concentrations.
This will produce students marketable to a wide range of industry. This program prepares students to step into the workplace, or it gives them an edge if choosing to further their education in the drafting, design and engineering fields.
The Drafting, Design and Engineering Program at Jeff Tech is designed to prepare students for entry-level employment in Architectural Drafting, Civil Drafting, Mechanical Drafting, Product Design, Manufacturing and Quality Control amongst others possibilities.
The Computer Network Engineering program will now be able to accept a greater number of students. Students will receive direct experience in the administration of network servers which includes: user and group management, server security, network shares, network operating systems, user and workstation security and remote connectivity.
Students enrolled in the Computer Network Engineering program will work extensively as interns for Jeff Tech to keep the schools network infrastructure and workstations maintained and operational.
This in-depth program is designed to meet the requirements of the CompTIA Network+, A+ and Linux+ certifications as well as the Cisco CCNA and Microsoft Windows certification tests.
Major topics covered include: network technologies, network media and topologies, network devices, network management, network tools, and network security. The program will be furthered developed to include fiber optics and cyber forensics.
Anyone wishing to apply for admission to Jeff Tech for the 2015-16 school year may still do so. The application is posted on the homepage at www.jefftech.us and available at the school. Please call 814-653-8265 for more information.