Training Programs Offer Deals That Take the Cake

Customers entering the West Valley Occupational Center bakery are immediately enveloped in the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, cookies, cakes and breads. And the prices are just as enticing.

French bread, 85 cents; giant cinnamon rolls, 80 cents; a large coffee cake, $2.25; a frosted and decorated sheet cake measuring 24 by 16 inches, $37.50. It’s like a walk back in time.

In reality, this bakery in Woodland Hills is a classroom, and the products in the sales cases are the result of student efforts.

Bakery instructor Bruno Heck, 56, complete with white hat and apron, is in the back room teaching his students how to knead bread, how to sprinkle just the right amount of cinnamon on rolls and how to keep a four-tier wedding cake from toppling over.

The bakery is one of half a dozen courses at the San Fernando Valley’s two occupational centers, where consumers can buy bread or potted plants, get haircuts or have their cars repaired--at considerable savings contrasted with similar commercial outlets. But there are limitations. The West Valley center and its counterpart, North Valley Occupational Center in Mission Hills, set the rules.

“We don’t have friction from retail operations because we make it clear that these are training programs,” said James Wall, West Valley principal. “We don’t advertise, and we won’t compete with the outside.”

Rather, he says, all the centers--there are five in the Los Angeles Unified School District--work closely with industry advisory committees to make sure students are learning current techniques.

“The public is our student body,” Wall said. “In the automotive department alone, for us to stay current we would need many cars on hand. We couldn’t even begin to approach that kind of financing, so repairing privately owned automobiles with parts customers pay for not only reduces our operating costs but allows the public to get something done less expensively.”

Only a handful of the center’s 65 or so courses provide services to the public, however. Administrators say that if the centers can train students without having to enlist the public, they do so. “We’ve been approached by people wanting to know if our carpentry class can build a room for them,” said Wesley M. Balbuena, 67, principal at North Valley Occupational Center. “Sure we can do it; but no, we won’t.

“We don’t want anyone to profit from these services. The purpose of this school is training. It’s to benefit the students in giving them hands-on experience.”

The classes that offer services to the community are varied.

Cosmetology: West Valley and North Valley offer extensive cosmetology classes in which the public can get haircuts, perms, tints, coloring, manicures, pedicures and even an occasional punk hairdo. West Valley’s facility is on campus, and North Valley does its training at the Modern Beauty Academy on Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City.

There are no appointments; it’s strictly first-come, first-served. But clients such as Ellen White, 85, of Reseda, have been coming to West Valley every week for the past year to get a shampoo, set, manicure and pedicure.

“I’d rather come here than anywhere else,” White said. “They’re personable; they do nice work and nobody hurries you. Besides,” she said with a wink, “when I come out of here, I look 55.”

The busiest days, West Valley instructors say, are Tuesdays and Wednesdays when the regular prices--$3.50 for a haircut and shampoo, $12.40 for a salon perm and $2.50 for a manicure--are halved for senior citizens.

“It gives us a chance to work with real customers,” said West Valley student Tanja Schimmang, 20, of Chatsworth. “You’re apprehensive at first, but after a while you get self-confidence in working with the public.” No children under 10 are allowed.

North Valley offers day classes Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. West Valley offers classes Monday through Friday from 9:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

Bakery: At West Valley only. “We bake exactly like a retail bakery,” said Heck, “and do everything from cookies to cakes, Danish pastry, puff rolls, some hotel baking, all the miniature pastries, bread, as well as various European pastries.”

Prices are about half those of retail bakeries, he says, emphasizing that the center bakery does not promote the business and won’t cater to organizations.

“We’re not here to hustle business away from commercial bakeries,” he said. “If you come in and say you want 200 of a certain type of pastry, I might say no because it doesn’t fit into the program this week.” But when his students have the time, the bakery will accept cake orders.

For a three-layer wedding cake, running about $65, Heck recommends calling well in advance. Before his students can start working, the customer will have to go to the bakery and pay for everything in cash--nothing is finalized on the telephone.

“We have to have an outlet for what we do,” he said, “and this makes the bakery self-sustaining. If we’re doing it, the public is welcome to take advantage of it.”

Landscaping: Both schools offer tree and plant sales through their landscaping occupations courses, monthly at West Valley and once a semester at North Valley. Call the schools for exact dates and times.

TV and VCR Repair: Both schools offer these classes, but only West Valley will accept a limited number of outside VCRs and color televisions for students to work on, depending on where the instructor is in the course.

Child-Care Training: The North Valley Occupational Center has a child-care training program that includes a day-care center for children ages 2 to 5, with half the enrollment reserved for children who live in the community.

Maximum daily payment for the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. day is $21.60, which includes breakfast, lunch and a snack. Children’s Center site coordinator Marianne Agbayani, 41, said, “This is a complete training program, not baby-sitting. There will be certified teachers watching at all times.”

Auto Repair: Available at both centers. An appointment is required, and if a car is accepted, payment for parts and materials, plus a $5 shop charge must precede any work.

“Anything we do here is for the learning process only,” said West Valley automotive instructor Jim Kohnen, 63.

He says his students can do all types of repairs, from car computers and carburetors to electric windows and power seats. With customers paying only for parts, he estimates that an $800 valve job, for instance, can be done by students for $60. The schools are even equipped with state-of-the-art emissions testing equipment, and although a smog certificate will not be issued, students can tell if a car will pass the test.

Occasionally, Kohnen said, he will do an engine overhaul, but only “if a customer will give me about a month with the car.”

He said, “It has to be a learning process. No junk, please, I have enough problems.” North Valley will not accept engine overhauls.

Auto Body Shop: Available at both centers.

“We offer body work and painting to the general public,” said West Valley instructor Michael McLouth, 38, “but they must go to an outside body shop first to get an estimate. Then we evaluate the car and see if it’s a good project.”

If it’s not, McLouth said he will pass, explaining that he will only accept cars his students can learn from. If he approves the work, the customer must pay for all parts up front. “We don’t want anyone to be surprised,” he said, adding that the main reason for getting an outside estimate is to make the customer aware of the price of parts.

“If a grill is going to cost $100 outside, it costs $100 here.”

Usually the cars approved for work must be no older than a 1980 model. McLouth said that if the car is an old clunker or a rare classic, he’ll probably say no.

“If we have a newer vehicle, it gives our students the experience they’ll need in the field. We don’t restore 1964 Falcons.” Neither are cars with heavy frame damage accepted. Expect repairs to average two or three weeks.

Brakes and Front-End Alignments: Brake jobs and front-end work, said West Valley instructor Kevin Valentino, 31, can take as little as a day and half, including seal replacement and complete brake and front-end certification. It is also the one area of occupational center auto repair that will accept an old car.

“The brakes on a 1958 Nash are, in theory, exactly the same as a 1965 Chevy,” he said. “As long as parts are commercially available and it’s a car you’ll see on the streets, no problem.”

There is also a motorcycle repair course at West Valley that will accept a limited number of bikes.

For additional information, contact North Valley Occupational Center, 11450 Sharp Ave., Mission Hills, (818) 365-9645, or West Valley Occupational Center at 6200 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills, (818) 346-3540.