Attendees are given classroom instruction, as well as hands-on training, on the basics of sewer and drain cleaning.

Topics to be covered in the two-week course include plumbing tools, safety on the job, fixtures, backflow, traps, water heaters, sewage pumps, sewer and drain cleaning, customer service and other subjects.

Each student who completes the WIT program also will receive 80 hours towards her journeyman's license as a master plumber.

Dina Dwyer-Owens, president and chief executive officer of The Dwyer Group, which licenses the Mr. Rooter franchise, developed the "Women In Trades" idea.

"Women don't think about plumbing as a career," she explained. "We need to get the word out and make them aware of the tremendous opportunity available for them in the plumbing field."

Women who complete the WIT program can submit their resum¿to be reviewed by interested locations of the Mr. Rooter franchise network, Dwyer-Owens said.

The 2003 course will be open to all women interested in learning the plumbing trade. The cost is $535 per student, and classes meet Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For registration information, contact the college's Admissions and Records office at 254/867-2360, or visit the TSTC Web site at www.tstc.edu.