As Boeing continues construction in Everett of its wing fabrication facility for the 777X and other aerospace businesses in the county continue their own growth, production of a critical component for those manufacturers also is ramping up: the training and development of skills for the people who will work in those facilities.
Boeing ceremoniously rolls out airliners that mark a significant milestone, and Everett Community College has reached its own milestone, marking 1,000 students earning certificates or associate of arts technical degrees in manufacturing and aerospace programs in the past year.
EvCC opened its Advanced Manufacturing Training and Education Center just 10 months ago at its facility off North Broadway and expanded its programs through a grant from the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges. To advance the programs within AMTEC, EvCC was provided a state Board of Community and Technical Colleges grant worth $1.4 million, the largest share of $8 million that went to colleges in the state. With that $1.4 million, EvCC added 35 engineering FTEs, 108 FTEs in precision machining, funding for its composites curriculum and equipment for its precision machining and composites labs. In terms of individual students, the precision machining program has grown from 59 to 91 students and its engineering program has grown 23 percent.
Students also are returning to further develop their skills; 80 percent of graduates return to complete what are called “stackable” certifications, education that adds to the student’s set of skills and to their value to employers or can be rolled into a degree and even greater value.
Most importantly, the graduates are finding work, and quickly; 90 percent of the machining program students were hired within 30 days of getting their certification.
EvCC’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed. It’s the only community college in the nation to be selected to join Boeing’s AerosPACE program, Aerospace Partners for Advancement of Collaborative Engineering. EvCC has joined Purdue, Georgia Institute of Technology, Tuskegee, Brigham Young and Embry Riddle in a program that facilitates collaboration on real-life engineering projects. Second-year students work with Boeing mentors and students at the other PACE schools to design, build and test unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. The most recent drone built, said John Bonner, vice president of corporate and workforce training at EvCC was raffled off at June’s Paris Air Show.
The end result is development of talent trained in the county to take jobs with Boeing, its suppliers and other aerospace companies.
“We’re growing talent for good-paying jobs,” said EvCC President David Beyer.
Those workers are staying in the county, working at businesses in Arlington, Monroe, Mukilteo and south Everett. And with a reliable source of well-trained employees, those businesses are more likely to stay in the county, too.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial should have indicated that EvCC’s manufacturing and aerospace programs have reached a milestone of 1,000 students during the year, not 1,000 full-time equivalent students. The editorial has been corrected.
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