What do businessman/politician Ross Perot, actor Dustin Hoffman and Black and Decker Chairman and CEO Nolan Archibald have in common? They are alumni of community colleges - publicly funded higher education establishments that provide vocational training and associate degree programs to students regardless of wealth, heritage or previous academic experience.

Such learning facilities give students practical training to enter the IT field. "Community colleges are good at providing work-ready skills. Students receive training to do entry-level jobs and are able to move into higher positions," says Jerry Bunce, IT education relationship manager at aviation company Boeing.

George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges, says these institutions are becoming the new graduate school. For instance, 28% of the current 6 million noncredit students - those not studying for credit towards a university - already hold bachelor degrees. Nearly half of all students work full time.

According to Boggs, community colleges have seen double-digit increases in enrollment over last fall, although he could not provide exact figures. "Some students may be out of work and want to pick up new skills," he says.

Boggs says community colleges aim to provide students with not only technical ability, but also communications skills such as writing reports and giving presentations. This knowledge would make candidates more desirable to employers.

David Luchtel, CIO at Pemco Insurance in Seattle, agrees. "When the job market heats up, most kids will need to have degrees to get high-paid jobs. But it is also very important to have interpersonal skills."

One college that has taken that notion to heart is Bellevue Community College (BCC) in Washington, which offers an associate in arts degree in IT and network support. An advisory board consisting of seven local companies, including Boeing and Pemco, support the college.

The advisory board meets three times per year to ensure BCC's programs help to produce graduates with work-ready skills. As such, BCC's students are taught "business survival" skills, says Michael Littlefield, program chair of the IT networks support program at BCC. "Students are given projects and research assignments that simulate those in business environments.