Lone Star College-University Park will build on an existing continuing education program to offer a Machining Technology associate of applied science degree beginning this fall.

Steven Kahla, dean of instruction for workforce, said the degree will prepare students to go into a variety of manufacturing industries, from small machine shops to electronics companies to oil and gas corporations.

"The workforce council looked at the market study and felt comfortable there were enough jobs out there to offer machining," Kahla said. "There are a lot of big companies that will hire their own machinists, but then a lot of companies will have specs for what they want to do and they'll send it out to different machining companies that might have four or five machinists."

The program will share space and training machines in the Energy and Manufacturing Institute building with the successful Fast-Track programs offered through LSC-Corporate College.

The Machining Technology program will also enable students to earn two levels of certificates reflecting their training on manual machines and Computer Numerical Control machines.