2002

East Central tar ets ech training inadequacies lor B) BECl(Y GILLETTE 1\ffiJ Contributing Writer cian apprenticeship program:· <;aid. "Everyone has come in and ...atd they got quite a lot out of 11."

Since March ECCC has provided training to more than ~00 people to upgrade technjcal skill-seLS. Local industry employees who have participated in the program have found it very valuable. sa)s Lamar Bradley. mainte– nance manager for ESCO Corporation. a steel found!) m Nev. ton "We have e\eral people here \~ho completed some of tho-.c courses," Bradley

Bradley sa1d previously if employee:. wanted to take a specific technical cla:;s. they would be required to first take other pre-requisite academic courses such as high-level math or English. That es-.enually made the trammg they were seeking unavailable. The ne\\. offerings are much more practical. allowmg the employees to ~tudy exactly what they need.

DECATUR - Manufacturing environ– ment~ are still very critical to the economic :-.ucce~s of East Central Mississippi and officiab no longer have to look several tate~ a\\.ay for trainmg that gro\\.S and/or grooms the maintenance employees 'Nho in:,tall, setup. troubleshoot and repair auto– mated manufacturing technologies. In the past some members of the State's Workforce Development Council have voiced opinions that workforce devel– opment programs delivered through the state's community and JUniOr colleges have neglected to address technical inadequacies in the workforce around the state. Of partic– ular concern has been the lack of access to training for improving skills for industrial maintenance mechanics and electrical tech– mcians m manufacturing industries At East Central Community College (ECCC). the concerns have been heard and major efforts made to tailor programs to meet the real-world needs of local manu– facturing industries and their workers. "ECCC has listened to these chal– lenges for quite some time from state " orkforce council members, district work– force council members. employer-cus– tomers. employee-trainees and vanous other authorities on ho\\. to pnoritize and ime t \\Orkforce education/training dol– lars •• 'aid Roger \\hillock. director of \\orkforce de,eJopment for ECCC.lbese ' ces ha\-e been heard 2nd the recom– mendations ba'e ased posru'e. resu ts- ..

manufacturing "If they want to know hydraulics, they can study hydraulics," Bradley smd. ''They can go for that need. We're really pleased with the program." Whitlock said ECCC instructors are proven with "real world experience" in the topics covered. Teaching matenals are tied to industry skills. Both electrical and mechanical programs are available at the

Please see~ page 14

ECCC

• Fmancial assistance options. Productivity en hancement and industrial maintenance traini ng classes cover a broad range to topics including electrical, electronics. hydraulics, pneumatics. motor controls. program– mable logic controls, industrial envi– ronment troubleshooting, electrical and mechanical drive systems. welding, and robotics. For more information on the produc– tivity enhancement and industrial mainte– nance training classes, or the many other programs offered through the ECCC workforce development center, contact Roger Whitlock at (60 I) 635-2 111 ext. 299 or send an e-mail to rwhitlock@ eccc.state.ms.us. • Contact MBJ contributing writer Beck) Gillette at mullein@datasync.com or (228) 872-3457.

conJinutdfrom pagt 11

modem lab that offers both hanC'>~ments for vmfying mrumenance rechnician,• knov.ledge and skill sets.