A-Minus Doesn’t Pass at Trumbull Technical Center
WARREN, Ohio -- In academia, an A- or a B is considered a good grade. But in industry, such a score is akin to a big red F.
“Do you know what we do with A- or B work in the machine trades?” George Carney, industrial training coordinator at Trumbull Career & Technical Center, asks rhetorically. “We toss it in the garbage. It has to be perfect.”
Carney, a retired tool-and-die maker from the former Delphi Automotive, says TCTC is introducing a new, full-time adult education program designed to teach machining skills to those looking to pursue careers in manufacturing. The program begins Jan. 28 and continues through Oct. 7.
“We realized there are not a whole lot of [machining] programs out there,” Carney says. The curriculum includes courses in mathematics, blueprint interpretation, shop theory, metallurgy, computer and software training, and 225 hours of internship with a Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition member company.
“Thus far, we have 12 students,” Carney reports. “It’s just getting started, so it’s difficult to bring 24 on at once.”
Carney envisions the program growing quickly. “I think it will grow to two classes running at a time,” he says. “But, instructors are hard to find.”
The goal is to train or retrain workers to meet the growing demand for machinists in the region’s manufacturing sector. “I believe at last count there were 241 unfilled machinist positions in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania,” Carney observes. “Companies need these employees to grow their businesses.”
Still, he cautions, machining isn’t for everyone. The trade requires excellent math skills and an attention to detail. “I always encourage our students to work together,” he says. “If you’re calculating something, and you come up with a certain number, have a buddy check it out, too.”
That’s because in the real world, a single, simple math mistake could cost a company $30,000 on a specific part. “It’s a very demanding trade,” Carney says, “and there are those who can’t handle it. You have to learn how to concentrate.”
Introducing high school students to machining concepts and the tools used to model and visualize a component is of vital importance, says Dave White, an instructor in TCTC’s computer-aided-design (CAD) program.
“We like to take everyday things and make them think like a designer,” he says. This way, students appreciate how their mathematical skills actually apply when it comes to creating a part or component.
Students use computer programs such as Autodesk Inventor and Solidworks to create architectural and mechanical schematics. Some of the mechanical parts can then be digitally transferred to a 3-D printer in the classroom that can manufacture a prototype of that component.
The career center has also partnered with Kent State University Trumbull Campus and uses the university’s equipment to train students, Carney relates. Learning to use computer-numerically-controlled, or CNC, machines, lathes and manual milling equipment are all part of the adult training program, he says.
“We have some former RG Steel employees enrolled,’ he notes. Cost of the nine-month program is $10,855, and each student receives the equivalent of $2,000 worth of tools once they successfully complete the courses.
About 100 students are enrolled in the adult part-time training program, which includes classes in the construction trades, engine repair, welding, air conditioning and refrigeration, electrical work and plumbing.
“We just did a lot of training for Exterran,” Carney says. At a cost of $13 million, Exterran Inc., an oil and gas services company based in Houston, is constructing a 65,000-square-foot fabricating plant in Youngstown.
Executives say they expect to employ 100 at the new plant once the operation ramps up to full capacity. And many of these prospective employees need training in disciplines such as welding and fitting, Carney says.
The welding used in the oil and gas industry, for example, differs from the traditional welding method used in manufacturing operations, Carney says. “It’s a little different in pipelines,” he explains. “They use what is called a ‘flux core weld,’ which is a much hotter weld.”
Demand for welders by the region’s emerging oil and gas industry, especially from those companies tied to the supply chain, is steadily increasing, Carney adds. TCTC’s part-time welding courses are filled, he adds.
So too are the high school welding programs, says Bob Olesky. “I have 25 in my junior class right now,” says Olesky, welding instructor at TCTC, “and there are 15 on the waiting list.”
Students are enthusiastic about the prospect of entering the workforce directly out of high school, Olesky observes. “I think kids are realizing that jobs are coming back to the area, and that there’s money in manufacturing.”
Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the January edition of The Business Journal, which focused on the work of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and the Industry Partners of Mercer and Lawrence Counties. CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.