So Much to Celebrate at QVCC Manufacturing

So after a short winter break from the daily grind, our advanced manufacturing students returned to start their second semester. I have to tell you how excited our faculty and staff are to have them all back. I got to teach the first class and welcome them. I can assure you the students are just as excited to return and ready to rock!! The results are in and congratulations to the 19 Manufacturing students and 4 Mechatronics students who made the Dean’s list. We are already starting to place some of them in paid internships, part time jobs and full time employment opportunities. It will take full commitment from them to achieve the success we all expect so they are confident and ready to start their new careers. Our program is always looking for better ways to deliver the very complex content the trade requires. The latest improvements being machine assignments for a few days without having to break down setups.

QVCC just had its Advanced Manufacturing Advisory Board meeting and items that are concerning going forward are still the lack of skilled employees as the older generation prepares to retire. It’s hard to believe they are talking about my generation?? That generation has so much knowledge to pass down, and we are delighted to share our knowledge and experience. As we look to expand our offerings in advanced manufacturing, we continue to search for semi-retired or ready to retire experts on the subject matter we teach. The Mechatronics Automation Certificate program offers many different opportunities in the maintenance world and the growing field in automation. This certainly will be the way of the future as manufacturing continues to come back to the good ole USA. I’ve visited many businesses who will considering the move to various automated ideas to replace some of the monotonous procedures or tasks. Then there is the environmental concerns of some of the jobs performed. What I’ve seen in such a short amount of time is amazing, I can only imagine what the future will bring with artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

As we look at present needs and future class offerings, one thing is common. Our students who have graduated for the certificate program are thirsty for more knowledge to make them better skilled. Our MFG 120 Metrology and MFG 109 Intro to MasterCAM are two classes that graduates can skill up in. There are many more subjects we can pursue and tuition reimbursement and apprenticeship money available for incumbent workers will be a big part of our retention and enrollment strategy. Their time in the program and what they have learned at their jobs makes these classes easier to translate into how it will help them perform.  We continue to run our non-credit Intro to Machine Operator, 7 week, 210 hour short term training throughout the year. This is another opportunity for us to recruit some individuals who recognize the increase in skills being directly correlated to the compensation earned in wages.

As a new way to promote careers in manufacturing at the businesses in our area we will be having our first town wide Manufacturing Open House. On April 2nd the Town Of Putnam in conjuction with area manufactures and QVCC, businesses will open their doors to the public to showcase their amazing facilities. This will take place from 5-8 pm and details will be coming soon.

So for now I encourage all of you to consider a career in manufacturing. We have so many success stories and student testimonials. The things that are out there on social media also confirm that. Keep your eyes out for and Information Session in early March and the above mentioned Manufacturing Night.

Stephen LaPointe
Director
Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center