BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Eastern Suffolk BOCES board president Lisa Israel of Greenport cuts the ribbon. Looking on are (from left) director of career and and technical adult education Dean Lucera, chief operating officer of BOCES Gary Bixhorn, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio, Legislator Ed Romaine, Assemblyman Dan Losquadro and divisional administrator of career technical adult education Barbara Egloff.

East End adults looking to expand their resumes to include a cosmetology license or a clinical medical assistant certificate are in luck.

The H.B. Ward Career and Technical Center of Eastern Suffolk BOCES, located on North Griffing Avenue in Riverhead, will now be offering daytime classes and an expanded catalog of courses for adult education.

Building 5 of the Riverhead campus will now be exclusively devoted to those courses, something BOCES administrators described as an affordable alternative to four-year degrees. Classes start Sept. 19.

“Our costs are significantly lower than other places,” said program administrator William Lombardo. The space formerly housed special education classes during the day, though those courses have been moved elsewhere, he said.

Tuition costs entirely finance adult education and will not cost BOCES any additional funds, Mr. Lombardo said. Adult education, which being part of BOCES means it is nonprofit, is run like a business — with all earnings invested back into the program, he added.

Vice principal Marie Davis said the campus will now be offering daytime adult ed classes, because there has been an increase in demand in the down economy. The school previously only administered a limited selection of classes and only at night. Students must have a high school diploma to enroll in career course, which include medical billing and comprehensive automotive skills, she said.

Local officials hope the new programs will help the unemployed looking to reenter the workforce.

“People can’t get a job because they don’t have the training they need,” Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine said during a ribbon cutting for the new center Thursday afternoon.

Mr. Lombardo noted some classes had already filled up or were nearing capacity.

“Certainly, our classes are very hot in the market place,” he said.

To register, visit www.esboves.org/aev or call 369-8104.

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