Page 37 - BusinessWest March 3, 2021

The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center at ACC has 50,000 square feet of space devoted to robotics and mechatronics, machining, and welding.
jobs immediately after, at good salaries. The reason is that the curriculum is cus- tomized according to indus- try needs.
Companies can then build on that training, hiring certificate holders, further training them up, and often providing additional edu- cation opportunities along with that full-time paycheck.
“People are always think- ing about four-year degrees, but if your pathway is through community college, your debt can be so much less,” Bidwell said. “That’s such an opportunity: to start a career and have someone else pay for it.”
advanced-manufacturing areas — welding, machining, and robotics/mechatronics — are finding jobs, Bidwell said.
“It seems like the staffing agencies have been a source lately that, at times in the past, we didn’t use as much because of our direct contacts,” she said. “But students are getting placed; they’re still
“People are always thinking about four-year degrees, but if your pathway is through community college, your debt can be so much less. That’s such an opportunity:
to start a career and have someone else pay for it.”
going into companies we’ve always worked with.” Enrollment in the program is about 60% what
it usually is, she added. “We did lose students because people just don’t want to go online at all — they want to get back on the ground. Hopeful- ly we’ll see that return for the fall and definitely next spring as vaccines roll out further.”
The numbers aren’t really a problem, though, because of capacity and social-distancing rules on campus. Students have engaged in a hybrid model this year, with some remote instruction and the necessary hands-on training on campus. As expanded vaccination hopefully leads to herd
machines, state-of-the-art computer labs — and a whole lot more.
But the center’s most impressive offering may be its partnerships with area manufacturers, who have guided ACC in crafting its certificate program as a way to get skilled workers in their doors quickly — typically at salaries starting around $50,000 or higher.
The program has created work opportuni- ties for both young people and career changers, and addressed what has been a persistent lack of qualified employees these companies need to grow. Normally, advanced manufacturers are looking for people with three to five years of experience. But ACC students are interning dur- ing their second semester and being hired for
Even though the pan- demic has temporarily slowed demand for work-
ers at some companies, Bidwell and her team — and the industry in general — believe that’s not likely to continue, especially with an aging work- force in many corners.
“You still hear about the silver tsunami,” she said. “We need to have people ready when they’re needed.”
Working Through It
The pandemic has slowed the pace of busi- ness in industries like aerospace and at regional anchor companies like Sikorsky Aircraft, main- ly due to supply-chain issues dating back to
last spring, but students in all three of ACC’s
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