TCCC Awarded $136,000 from Duke Power February 07, 2005
Released By Tri-County Community College
MURPHY, N.C. - Tri-County Community College (TCCC) has received a $136,000 grant from Duke Power to initiate a Machinist training program.
The grant funds were provided through the Duke Power Community College Grant Program, which provides up to $3 million annually for four years to community colleges that serve Duke Power’s North Carolina service area. The focus of the program is to encourage community and technical colleges to provide additional training for manufacturing and related industries. It is one of the many economic development initiatives the company announced in 2004, Duke Power’s 100th anniversary.
TCCC officials estimate that more than 150 employees in local industry will be eligible to participate in the new training program.
"The management at Sioux Tools was the first to jump on board and help us frame our proposal to Duke Power,” said Terrie Kelly, TCCC Vice President for Institutional Advancement. “However, when we presented the idea to Moog Components Group and TEAM Industries(formerly Bombardier), it did not take them long to also recognize the value of our project and join us at the table.
"In simple terms, this program will help current employees upgrade their skills to meet the growing need for a more specialized workforce,” Kelly said. “It will be good for the companies to beable to promote in-house, and it will be very good for the employees.”
According to J. Edward Smith, Ph.D. and TCCC Vice President for Continuing Education and Workforce Development, this is a nationally certified machinist training program.
The training will follow the industry standards as established bythe National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS),” he said. “NIMS has entered into an agreement with the United States Department of Labor to develop a new competency based apprenticeship system.”
Smith said an important factor in this plan is the integration of standards -based credentialing assessments combined with on-the job learning.
The project builds on the 24 sets of national standards and credentials and will enable the employers to apply the NIMS credentials as milestones within their apprenticeship training. Employers will be able to customize training to meet their own needs while maintaining the national integrity of certification.
Smith said the plan affords maximum flexibility for trainees and employers alike. The system will reward trainees in enabling them to advance at their own pace. By integrating the NIMS credentials as performance measures, it is projected that trainees may have multiple entry points and enter training with advanced standing based on earned credentials.
"Because it has a competency-based performance measure, employers will be able to effectively monitor and measure progress,” he said. Kelly said cooperation between the college and the industries is also a big part of this project. The college will provide grant administration,some clerical support, and access to high-speed computers for online training. The management at Sioux Tools has also agreed to open their facilities to allow outside students to train in its plant.
Smith said the benefit to the local plants would be reduced set-uptime, better quality, increased production, and reduction in scrap cost. Such aspects of production are currently measured so that companies can remain stable and maintain profitability.
He also said the employer multiplier used by Department of Commerce indicates that for every new job created in the industry a second new job equivalent will be created in the community.
Kelly said she also hopes this project will become a catalyst for TCCC to re-start its machinist training curriculum.
Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity and value-added products and services to more than 2 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,900 megawatts. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at: www.dukepower.com.
Contact Information:
Bo Gray, Public Information Officer
Tri-County Community College
828-835-4255
Duke Power Contact
Tom Williams
704-373-4743, Option 1
