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GED students first to take manufacturing class |
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 Jason Browne/Daily Times Leader By Jason Browne
Daily Times Leader
Brian Sellers, one of West Point School District’s GED instructors, summed up the advantage his students are receiving thanks to a pilot instruction program with East Mississippi Community College with one succinct point.
“People with college degrees couldn’t get these (industrial) jobs. But these kids could,” he said.
The Workforce Services Manufacturing Skills course being offered at EMCC is teaching the industry-based skills necessary to get hired at booming local industries like Paccar, Holcim and Eurocopter. The course is being offered to West Point GED students via a pilot program teaming EMCC Golden Triangle with the West Point School District.
Dr. Raj Shaunak, vice president of workforce and community services at EMCC Golden Triangle, says the program will eventually expand to include more local school districts and adult classes, but for now West Point is leading the way.
Shaunak says he received word from former Sara Lee employees who recently completed the class who have been offered jobs working with sheet metal that will pay more than their salaries with Sara Lee. He credits Superintendent Steve Montgomery with having the vision to get GED students involved in the class.
“We’re very grateful for Steve Montgomery’s vision of seeing the value in giving skills to individuals to get incoming jobs in manufacturing,” said Shaunak.
Dr. Jim Huerkamp, who teaches the course, says the class focuses on basic skills which are applicable to any industrial setting, such as safety, teamwork and basic math. But the class also covers more complex subjects like blueprint reading, sheet metal work and avionics cabling.
“This is just the starting point,” says Huerkamp. “If the students are interested in manufacturing, we’ve only given them the basics.”
Any students wishing to continue in manufacturing may choose from a number of more specific courses offered at EMCC. But even if they decide not to continue with further education and test the job market, the class will still give them a decided advantage over individuals with high school diplomas or GED’s.
Sellers says the exposure the class offers is valuable in itself. He says the students are exposed to college courses through studying at EMCC, as well as factory work thanks to touring local facilities such as Eurocopter and Holcim.
At the end of the course the student will be tested and their scores will be uploaded on a statewide database for employers to access.
Jessica Lacey, a student in the course, says the class has helped her feel more confident in her organizational skills. Lacey plans to go into nursing and intends to take a healthcare spinoff course at EMCC.
Shaunak hopes most of the students in the course will take the same direction as Lacey and continue with further education, but he acknowledges that many students have an immediate need for work and the course will help them as well.
“Relative to their peers that don’t have this (training), they will have a leg up,” he said. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 November 2007 )
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