Community Colleges Offer High-Tech Training

New program designed by industry trains dislocated workers and combats skilled-worker shortage.

By Mollie Romano
Posted 10-10-05

"Employers are looking for employees who are cross-trained with electrical, electronic, and mechanical skills,” explained Arturo Caballero, a graduate of the Advanced Manufacturing/Integrated Systems Technology (AM/IST) training program. “The AM/IST training prepared me with the basic technological skills needed for my new career.”

All learning is multimedia based and self-paced, so students learn lessons through a computer program and take quizzes and hands-on skills tests when they feel prepared.

In January 2003, after a few months of unemployment, Caballero enrolled in an eight-week AM/IST training program through Elgin Community College (ECC) in Elgin, IL. The program runs 200 hours and teaches entry-level skills for operating, troubleshooting, and maintaining high-tech equipment. Upon completing the program, Caballero was hired as an industrial electrician technician at Rock/Tenn Co. in Aurora, IL, and now is working for Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. in Elk Grove Village, IL.

Because so many skilled workers who understand high-tech equipment are retiring, many industries are looking for entry-level workers who can fill those advanced manufacturing positions. The shortage of skilled workers combined with the abundance of dislocated workers caused by a weak economy led to the implementation of AM/IST. “When students finish the program they are qualified for an entry-level position in industrial maintenance,” said Charles Raimondi, AM/IST program director at ECC. “We give them the core material they need in order to fit in at an industrial setting.”

With leadership from Caterpillar Inc., the program was designed by industry representatives who recognized a need for a new generation of skilled workers who understand today’s rapidly changing technologies. In 2002, four community colleges in Ohio and four in Illinois began offering the program.

Having completed their training goals for dislocated workers, the colleges now are developing and implementing programs for incumbent workers, apprentices, and individuals seeking an AAS degree in advanced manufacturing. The AM/IST training programs are coordinated through the National Center for Integrated Systems Technology (NCIST) based at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.

Each facility has approximately $1 million worth of equipment and curricula, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor/Education and Training Administration. The program utilizes hands-on skills training and simulates actual industrial environments.

Classroom learning
Typical students who enroll in the program are recruited through one-stop centers, or unemployment offices. Students come with a range of skills—from no experience (one student had worked only in the travel industry) to some experience (several students have been line workers) to skilled (students who need to upgrade skills to understand the changing technologies). The only requirement is that students have basic math, English, and computer skills. Classes are small, serving a maximum of 14 students at a time.

Students learn about electrical systems for 3 weeks, mechanical systems for 3 weeks, and programmable logic controllers for 2 weeks (see accompanying text “AM/IST Curricula”)—the focus of all classes is on industrial maintenance. They learn how to use deductive thinking, understand current equipment, and log and document information.

Each of the sections (electrical systems, mechanical systems, and programmable logic controllers) contains several lessons that are completed with written and hands-on skills tests. Students must acquire an 80 percent proficiency level before they may move on to subsequent activities.

Most instructors for the program have industry backgrounds. They are continually offered professional development by NCIST in seminars that focus on instructional methods. They also improve upon their teaching by discussing classroom issues through an intranet on the NCIST’s Web site. The intranet also allows instructors to ask questions about curricula and training equipment.

AM/IST training is multimedia based, taught through the use of computer technology, which helps to teach, quiz, and record students’ progress; learning activity packets (LAPs), which are manuals that supplement each lesson; and around $1 million worth of equipment, which allows students to develop hands-on skills.

All training equipment was designed by industry representatives. “When manufacturers visit the training labs they are very surprised at the capabilities of the program,” said Toni McCarty, executive director of NCIST.

aM/IST Curricula Electrical curriculum Electrical control circuits Residential/commercial wiring Electrical motor control Industrial electrical wiring Industrial power distribution Electronic curriculum Programmable controllers Mechanical curriculum Hydraulics Pneumatics Pneumatics maintenance Piping systems Electro-fluid power Electronic sensors Hydraulic troubleshooting Basic mechanical drives Light duty V-belt and chain drives Heavy duty V-belt drives

Program development
The curricula for AM/IST was developed under the leadership of Caterpillar Inc., who after making a significant financial investment in task analyses to determine what new workers need to know, took the information it had learned to AMATROL, a manufacturer of learning systems for technical training. Along with several other major industry players, such as Goodyear, IBM, General Motors, and Miller, Caterpillar and AMATROL developed the program through a seven-step process:

• Design learning modules around critical goals.

• Determine appropriate student outcomes for the learning modules by reviewing all information and data currently available.

• Convene a development team to create the learning modules.

• Address the needs of all learners by using a variety of instructional methods.

• Incorporate a comprehensive, real-time electronic management system that instructors can use to continually assess student outcomes.

• Assure that the learning modules are continually being reviewed so that any necessary updates and improvements can be made.

• Assure that year-round professional development is available to instructors so that they may continually upgrade their skills and teaching methodologies.

In cooperation with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) provided training and employment grants to one-stop centers and community colleges. These grants are part of the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative for Advanced Manufacturing.

These sites were chosen because labor market information indicated that these areas were experiencing skilled labor shortages. “The AM/IST project was funded by the USDOL because it represents a true employer-driven initiative,” McCarty said. “This program was designed to meet the needs of employers experiencing skilled labor shortages.”

Program success
Although anyone can enroll in the program for a fee, dislocated workers who are recruited by one-stop centers go through the training for free. Once training is completed, the colleges and one-stop centers work together to place the students in jobs. The NCIST posts students’ resumes on its Web site, www.ncist.ilstu.edu, for potential employers to view.

AM/IST gives students practical information and skills that will help industry. “These students are going to have to be able to get out there and troubleshoot this equipment—repair it in a timely fashion. In this program we teach them how to do that, how to use the tools, how to apply the safety. It’s all a part of training them so companies can hire our students and say, ‘Yes, this is what we’ve been looking for. Now we don’t have an unskilled labor force any more. We had a skilled labor force that left, and now we have another skilled labor force we can bring in.’ That’s what our job is,” Raimondi said.

To date, 186 manufacturers in Illinois and Ohio have hired AM/IST participants, with an average starting wage of $14.32. Companies have been so pleased with the students they hired that several have employed multiple program participants. The target for both Illinois and Ohio is to train and place 288 students in manufacturing jobs.

Mollie Romano is a former assistant editor for Maintenance Technology.