EVERETT — The options for obtaining basic skills to land a job in aerospace manufacturing are expanding again in Snohomish County.
Everett Community College is enrolling students in a five-week Manufacturing Pre-Employment program, which starts in late October. The course of study is to provide students skills needed either to get an entry-level manufacturing job or to continue on with more specialized aerospace training.
“This is a good class for someone who doesn’t have familiarity with tools or manufacturing” but loves airplanes, said Sheila Dunn, associate dean of aerospace and advanced manufacturing careers for EvCC.
Students who satisfactorily complete the 12-credit course receive two certificates: a manufacturing pre-employment certificate and the National Career Readiness certificate. They’ll learn to read blueprints, to use tools and will brush up on math and communication skills.
It’s the first time that EvCC will offer the program. The Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center at Paine Field offers similar training certificates. That training center, overseen by Edmonds Community College, offers a four-week aerospace manufacturing core certificate online and follow-on eight-week programs on campus.
Dunn said that students who complete EvCC’s new manufacturing readiness class could continue on with training in the areas of composites, welding, precision machining and technical design. The community college also offers degrees and certificates in those subjects.
The boom in aerospace training programs comes as the Boeing Co. and its suppliers are increasing jet production and are faced with an aging workforce. Boeing’s employment in Washington grew by 625 jobs in July and by nearly 3,500 so far this year, according to the company’s website.
In 2011, a consortium of 10 community and technical colleges, known as Air Washington, won a $20 million federal grant to help meet the aerospace industry’s training needs. The new EvCC course is part of that grant. Boeing was part of a group that helped shape the curriculum, Dunn said.
The manufacturing employment readiness class will be offered every quarter to 25 students. Tuition is 1,167.88 plus $85 in fees.*
More info about EvCC’s training course
The Manufacturing Pre-Employment class at Everett Community College begins Oct. 29. The class will be held from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through Dec. 6 at EvCC’s main campus.
Information sessions about the course will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Aug. 30, Sept 6, Sept. 13 and Sept. 20 in Gray Wolf Hall, room 152.
For more information or to attend an information session, contact Annette Floyd, Air Washington program manager, at 425-388-9562 or afloyd@everettcc.edu.
For more information, go to www.everettcc.edu/IntroMfg.
*Correction, Aug. 20, 2012: An incorrect tuition cost was included in an earlier version of this story.
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