Certified Baker

The curriculum offers students valuable hands-on experience and academic rigor to ultimately seek entry and mid-level positions in the baking industry.  Individuals seeking to advance and update well-rounded skills in the field will benefit from completion of this certificate.  Related local and global baking career opportunities students may enter upon completion include bakers,, production bakers, pastry cooks, and decorators within the following hospitality industries: restaurants, hospitals, retail, catering, lodging, tourism, meeting, convention, and exposition; theme parks; clubs; cruiseline and airway; and service, consulting, and e-commerce businesses and companies.  Students are encouraged to pass the Manager Food Safety and Sanitation Certification with a score of at least 75% upon completion of this program in order to supplement their resumes, in addition, it is required for those who intend to transfer to CSU or private universities for Bachelor degrees. 

No prerequisite skills are required for enrollment.  

This program contains required lab fees, uniform, tool kit and possible Food Safety Certification Registration and exam fees should students decide to complete the exam.

A Certificate of Achievement is awarded upon completion of all required courses with a grade of C or better.

Annual enrollment data from 2018-2019 & 2019-2020

 

	2018-2019	2019-2020
Course Department Number	Course Title	Annual # Sections	Annual Enrollment Total	Annual # Sections	Annual Enrollment Total
HOSP 003	Survey of Hospitality Management & Manager Sanitation & Safety	0	0	0	0
HOSP 014	Culinary Principles	0	0	0	0
HOSP 015	Industry Culinary Foundations 1	0	0	0	0
HOSP 140	Industry Baking Foundations 1	0	0	0	0
HOSP 141	Industry Baking Foundations 2	0	0	0	0
HOSP 060	Culinary Production and Operation Management	0	0	0	0

 

HOSP 003 (effective Summer 2021)

Remainder of courses effective Summer 2020, however, first offering of HOSP 014, 015 and 140 began in Fall 2020. 

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate attributes of a professional baker including: sense of urgency, organization, foundational skills techniques, ingredient selection, appropriate care of commercial equipment, leadership, teamwork, interpersonal skills, preparing, serving and cleaning.
2. Identify and administer rigorous food safety and sanitation practices.   
3. Demonstrate proficiency in basic ingredient conversions, food costing and yield management practices. 

The goals of the Certified Baker Certificate of Achievement are to guide, train, and provide a solid foundation of knowledge and experiential baking and pastry skills for students to enter the workforce in entry- to mid-level positions toward supervisory and managerial positions with higher wages.  By providing students with a hands-on experiential learning environment, it solidifies the theoretical knowledge and bolsters it with tactical and analytical practice whilst offering opportunities for critical thinking. 

According to the Labor Market Information (LMI) provided by the Center of Excellence (COE), over the next five years, there are projected to be 22,354 jobs available annually in the region due to new job growth and replacements, which is more than 1,396 awards conferred annually by educational institutions in the region. In addition, the occupational demand for Los Angeles and Orange County for the industry is projected to be an 11 percent growth from 2019-2024.   Furthermore, the COE purports were 2,607 online job postings related to bakers listed in the past 12 months.  The highest number of job postings were for bakers, cake decorators, pastry cooks and chefs.  The top skills were: food safety, cleaning, food preparation, and baking.  The top three employers, by the number of job postings, in the region were: Panera Bread, Marriott International Inc, and El Super.  Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that the national-level educational attainment data indicates that between 23.9% and 40.6% of workers in the field have completed some college or an associate degree.  Students may enter the field at entry-level positions, but with the foundational skills and experiential knowledge from their degree, form clear industry pathways for a mid-level and upper-positions in addition to articulating courses from the degree to a 4-year institution.

 

Center of Excellence (2020) states that 45 percent of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism (RHT) employers reported that their organization frequently promotes from within; employers cited several customer service representatives who worked hard and advanced into managerial positions.  RHT entry-level jobs can prepare job seekers for careers within the same sector or across industries using skills developed by working in the RHT sector such as problem-solving, communication, and customer service (COE, 2020). 

The current Baking and Pastry Occupational Skills Certificate listed in the PCC Catalog 2019-2020 is out of date and is in need of significant updates to ensure relevancy for students and employers.  The Baking and Pastry program has been dormant for 5 years and 1 Full Time Faculty individual was hired to resurrect courses, revamp curriculum and build the program.  Based on an advisory meeting, industry leaders are interested in PCC offering new Baking and Pastry courses under new certificate programs in addition to also providing students with several articulated courses for transferability. 

 

To accommodate students with all types of schedules, some courses are available fully online while others are hybrid approved, therefore, students may enroll full or part time.  Students who complete the program requirements are awarded a Certificate of Achievement – Certified Baker.  Individuals who complete this certificate will continue to play a key role in maintaining California’s competitive advantage in the market. 

 

The current Baking and Pastry Occupational Skills Certificate will be archived in light of this new certificate due to the implementation of substantially modified or new Hospitality Management courses such as HOSP 003 (effective Summer 2021), and the remainder effective Summer 2020:  HOSP 014, HOSP 015, HOSP 121, HOSP 140 and HOSP 060 included in this Certificate of Achievement.  Because this industry is constantly going through major changes, it is imperative that the degrees and courses reflect the most current and relevant information for employer and industry needs.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
HOSP 003	Survey of Hospitality Management & Manager Sanitation and Safety	3	Y1
HOSP 014	Culinary Principles	3	Y 1
HOSP 015	Industry Culinary Foundations I	3	Y 1
HOSP 140	Industry Baking Foundations I	3	Y 1
HOSP 141	Industry Baking Foundations II	3	Y 2
HOSP 060	Culinary Production and Operation Management	4	Y 2

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Required Core Total:                          19 units

TOTAL UNITS:                     19 units

 

Proposed Sequence: 

Year 1, Fall = 6 units

Year 1, Spring = 6 units 

Year 2, Fall = 7 units

TOTAL UNITS: 19 units

 

0r

Year 1, Fall = 6 units 

Year 1, Spring = 13 units

TOTAL UNITS: 19 units

o The following courses have been replaced and therefore archived due to significant modification of curriculum for industry relevancy and student success.  CUL 154A – Introduction to Food Service Baking & Pastry and CUL 154B – Advanced Baking and Pastry . o The following programs will be archived until the new curriculum courses and program are approved. Most of the courses above will count for credit for the new courses offered in the new program.  Baking and Pastry (Occupational Studies Certificate). o No other related programs are offered by the college

DIstance Calculated from Pasadena City College: 1. Cerritos College - Baking and Pastry (30.5 miles) 2. Long Beach City College - Baking and Pastry (36.1 miles) 3. Los Angeles Mission College - Baking and Pastry (30 miles) 4. Los Angeles Trade Tech - Baking and Pastry (13.8 miles) 5. Mt. San Antonio College – Baking and Pastry (25.9 miles) Private (for profit) Culinary Programs: 1. Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) - Pasadena, CA (1.7 miles) - tuition $35,000 Within the Los Angeles County Service Area Community Colleges, Los Angeles Trade Tech is the closest in proximity to PCC. While the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is close in proximity to Pasadena City College, the minimum tuition cost is $35,000 for a basic Baking and Pastry degree with courses that are not transferable to the following Hospitality centered CSUs (Pomona (Hospitality Management), Northridge (Tourism, Hospitality, and Recreation Management), Long Beach (Hospitality Management), Sacramento (Recreation Administration), and San José (Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management; Chicana and Chicano Studies).

We anticipate around 300 enrollments in this program. This is calculated by taking the 6 courses, multiplying that by 24 and then multiplying by 2 for Fall and Spring terms respectively. This does not count Winter and Summer enrollments.