Industrial training programs are facing unique challenges with the rise of Industry 4.0 amidst a post-pandemic workforce, including rapid technology changes and the growing skills gap to name a few.
However, programs in our area are well-equipped to meet those challenges and educate the next generation of workers. Here are some of our favorite examples:
New River Community College
Dublin, VA
New River Community College houses a range of industrial programs within the Division of Business and Technologies, including machine technology, automotive, engineering design, welding and more, to provide comprehensive higher education and workforce training to meet business and community needs in the region.
Machine technology students are provided with hands-on experience that prepares them for employment as machine tool operators. Professional certifications are offered in areas such as primary standards, support and layout, surface finish inspection and hardness testing, data sure statistical measurement capture, and more. The opportunities in the program allow students to not only learn job skills in the lab, but also fabricate unique items like musical instruments.
The automotive industry is one seeing rapid technology changes. As vehicles become increasingly more complex, professional services are needed and future technicians must have the instruction and skills necessary to make repairs. Automotive students at NRCC can study everything from automotive braking systems to hybrid electric vehicle technology—and even do so up close.
The engineering design program at NRCC has no shortage of unique projects for students to apply their skills to, including advanced concept design projects for second year students such as UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) and UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicles). Students can utilize a variety of equipment in the design lab from 3D printers to an FAA approved flight simulator to 3D scanning technology. Industry experts have even weighed in on the quality of students’ work, see what they have to say here.
Not only does the instrumentation and control automation program at NRCC have access to an extensive list of state-of-the-art training equipment, students are given the opportunity to utilize those resources for hands on training in required skills and theory required for the field. The program has given students the tools to pursue a career programming and fixing robots, or traveling overseas to test safety systems on offshore gas production platforms.
Danville Community College
Danville, VA
At Danville Community College, industry programs range from advanced manufacturing to industrial maintenance technology to welding. The institution places an emphasis on responding to regional workforce demands and even provides customized training programs to meet the specific needs of businesses.
For example, DCC has partnered with Tyson Foods to offer a maintenance technology program to help students find highly skilled work at a Tyson poultry facility in Danville. According to a news release about the program, the intensive hands-on curriculum puts students in the lab where skilled instructors create simulations and production environments to train students with first-hand knowledge of the future applications of their skills.
Further, the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research prepares workers for skilled trades positions in the defense industry, including naval shipbuilding. Training is held on the campuses of IALR and DCC, with DCC serving as the curriculum provider.
DCC students are challenged by exciting projects that showcase technical knowledge and skills. Machining students can find themselves racing derby cars while students gain real world experience from installing heating and cooling systems at Habitat for Humanity homes.
Regardless of the path students take at DCC, industrial trade students are learning valuable skills and coming out on top. DCC students won first place at a state manufacturing trades competition a few years ago, and recently DCC welding, programming, and machinist students won MFG’s National Skilled Trade Championship.
Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center
Huntington, WV
The Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center, formerly the Robert C. Byrd Institute, is Marshall University’s technical services and training center. In addition to the formal, hands-on workforce development programs for machining and welding students, the center provides equipment and specialized training for businesses both big and small.
One such small business is run by a MAMC machinist program graduate who launched his own service-disabled veteran-owned metalworking operation. The business’s owner, Milford Zeigler Jr., is able to utilize the center’s shared manufacturing model and have access to MAMC technology and expertise. In this blog post, Zeigler explains how he hopes to bring more federal contract dollars to West Virginia, and also inspire other minorities to pursue manufacturing jobs.
The demand for highly skilled workers in fields like machining is evident, especially when considering the remarkably high placement rate of those in the machining program at MAMC. Every spring 2022 graduate had a job lined up at manufacturing facilities across the state and region after completion of the career skills program.
However, it is not uncommon for those still in the program to secure employment while developing their skills, like this machinist student who landed a part-time local manufacturing job while attending classes, or this Marshall University electrical engineering student who interned at MAMC for the real world experience. That experience as an MAMC intern included programming, CAD, manufacturing components, 3D printer repairs and more, all while networking with future employers.
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, VA
Skilled industrial trade workers are in high demand, and Wytheville Community College is equipped to meet that demand in as little as four weeks. The college offers both short- and long-term programs in trades like welding, commercial truck driving, power line, automotive, industrial maintenance, machining, construction trades, and more.
The 14-week long power line worker program at WCC has seen eleven groups of students graduate with the necessary training and certifications necessary to succeed in the trade since the program’s inception in 2017. Recently, the program received a grant to expand the training program into Patrick County. Students in the program study and train skills including electrical theory, aerial framing, rigging, safety, commercial truck driving, and the use of utility service equipment.
WCC has also recently partnered with Blue Star NBR, a manufacturer looking to fill more than 2,500 positions in Wytheville, to create an industrial maintenance program. The program’s curriculum puts students in a hands-on work lab with skilled instructors with manufacturing expertise and focuses on four major areas: electrical, mechanical, fluid power, and automation. Students can expect to walk away with certifications in areas like electrical, mechanical, fluid power, sensors, PLC and robotics. The first students graduated from the program earlier this year and will be given priority in Blue Star NBR’s hiring process for new Industrial Maintenance roles.
Bridgevalley Community and Technical College
South Charleston, WV
Bridgevalley Community and Technical College has no shortage of industry degrees and certifications to offer under its Applied Technology academic umbrella, which covers programs like welding, diesel technology, chemical operations, and drafting skills.
Although technology has shifted, the heavy equipment industry is still in need of workers who can inspect, repair, and maintain any type of diesel engine. The diesel technology program at Bridgevalley Community and Technical College takes a hands-on approach to learning and students will see how to diagnose and fix engines, brake systems, drive trains, hydraulic systems, and electrical systems. Students have access to real diesel equipment, industry standard tools and diagnostic software, and a 10,000 square foot diesel shop.
The college also offers programs in the Engineering & Manufacturing Technology pathway, including engineering technology, advanced manufacturing technology, and highway engineering technology. The advanced manufacturing path even has a work sponsorship program with Toyota and Nucor to aid in bridging the skills gap and make students more competitive within the workforce. The Advanced Manufacturing Technician Work Sponsorship Program provides students with a two-year associates degree in advanced manufacturing, along with a real-world paid work experience with a manufacturer.
These programs and more are leading the charge in the college’s vision to be a leading force in civic engagement and economic development in the region. At least two recent grant opportunities are well on their way to creating a diverse learning community in the area. First, BVCTC was awarded $1.15 million to invest in education and skills training for jobs in green technology and will focus on training and retaining workers in the new industry jobs growing in the region. The project will provide an opportunity to improve the income and skills of local populations impacted by layoffs in coal mining and other legacy industries.
In addition, a $1.4 million grant will launch an initiative to help nontraditional, minority, rural, and veteran students earn an associate degree in advanced manufacturing technology or information technology, opening opportunities for graduates to pursue well-paying, high-quality jobs. The program, called the Appalachians Training for Employment in Technology (ATET) initiative, will educate students to take on in-demand, high-paying positions such as industrial machinery mechanic, mechatronics technician and industrial controls technician. ATET will also work with regional industry to address greatest needs in the technology workforce and place graduates into open positions.
Brightpoint Community College
Chester, VA
Brightpoint Community College, formerly John Tyler Community College, has more than 20 programs in skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, architecture, and construction. Students train in state-of-the-art lab spaces equipped with the same technology and equipment they’ll see in the field. Programs range from two-year degrees to one-year apprenticeship preparation programs to six-week long training.
The mechanical engineering technology two-year degree program prepares students for jobs in the field through working in teams, designing and executing engineering projects, articulating the design process, and designing engineering problems using computational tools.
Brightpoint’s one-year Apprenticeship Academy program prepares students for a registered apprenticeship in an in-demand trade such as precision machining, electricity, heating and air conditioning, and more. Coursework includes hands-on work with lathes, mills, grinders, drills, and presses for machining students and preparation to take the state electrician journeyman exam for electricity students. It’s even possible to take that electricity education and jump to a career like electrical engineering down the road, like this Brightpoint student.
To jumpstart a career in high-demand fields like skilled trades and manufacturing, Brightpoint offers short term training with the Community College Workforce Alliance. Students can be career-ready in as little as six weeks and learn from experienced instructors using state-of-the-art simulators and hands-on teaching to train for nationally recognized credentials. Those with industry experience can also leverage the programs at CCWA to advance their careers.
Virginia Peninsula Community College
Hampton, VA
Hands-on technology programs at Virginia Peninsula Community College (formerly Thomas Nelson Community College) range from technical studies degrees to career studies certificates in Industry 4.0. The technical studies specialization offers work-based learning opportunities and real-world experiences with courses in mechanical codes, heat pumps, direct digital controllers and more. The Industry 4.0 certificate prepares students for advanced manufacturing positions and gives students the opportunity to earn industry certifications by completing illustrative labs and assignments provided by certified instructors.
Another program providing skills for manufacturing positions is the Advanced Integrated Manufacturing program, which offers real world, hands-on experiences with industry partners like Newport News Shipbuilding, Canon, Continental, and more. The program aims to increase students’ skills sets and earning potential by becoming multi-skilled technicians. Multi-skilled technicians can apply training to a variety of in-demand industries including manufacturing, automotive, materials processing and more.
Industrial trade programs include masonry, certified logistics, plumbing, and more. The college recently opened the Trades Center in Toano, VA to house training for the building and construction trades. Training at the Center replicates actual worksites of welding, CNC machining, carpentry, and masonry technicians and offers short-term training to meet the demand for skilled workers in the industry.
Industrial technology students can expect to learn things like how to build a cable and show how it communicates from the transmitter to the receiver in Fiber Optics class or create an object out of reinforcement material and resin in Composites class. Field certifications in this industry include CertTEC and SpaceTEC, and the Installer and Fiber Optic Technician exams.
Tidewater Community College
Hampton Roads, VA
The Hampton Roads region of Virginia is one that is seeing a high demand for skilled trades workers to meet the workforce needs of the area’s deep harbors and technologically advanced infrastructure. From engineering, maritime, and skilled trades to manufacturing and transportation, Tidewater Community College has many options for advanced learning to meet the demand for skilled workers across its four campuses and five regional centers located across Hampton Roads.
The Regional Automotive Center in Chesapeake houses the automotive technology, diesel technology, and collision repair programs at TCC. The center’s curriculum combines in-depth instruction with hands-on work and shop experience, in addition to paid internships and real-world assignments. Students are trained on the latest equipment to keep up with industry trends in the 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility. Among the assets of the center are nine classrooms, 15 instructional laboratories, a four-wheel chassis dynamometer, diagnostic scan tools and three alignment machines.
As for the growing skills gap in the trades, the TCC Skilled Trades Academy is working to train and fill open jobs through hands-on, state-of-the-art instruction on the latest industry tools and equipment. Short term training Is available for in-demand jobs like maritime trades (including marine coating, pipefitting, and welding), manufacturing trades (including sheet metal), industrial trades (including pipe laying), and construction trades (including roofing, framing, and electrical).
TCC also has the Center for Workforce Solutions which provides quality short-term workforce training in industries like maritime and transportation, construction, and advanced manufacturing. The advanced manufacturing program aims to educate highly skilled employees familiar with high tech equipment to keep up with new American manufacturing jobs. Experienced professionals in the field provide personalized training in state-of-the-art machining labs, or on site with existing equipment.
These industrial training programs, along with many others across Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, are rising to the challenges that come with educating a new workforce.
