Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • September 24, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com K iley Russell's story was all too familiar. In her mid-20s, with some college experience and lots of student-loan debt, Russell spent time waitressing and bartending while she searched for a rewarding career she could sink her teeth into. She went back to school last year, but rather than study anthropology or sociology like she had at Johnson and Wales and Coastal Carolina universities, she signed up for a two-semester manufacturing program at Goodwin College in East Hartford. The course of study included a pathway to employment with Cheshire precision aerospace components manu- facturer EDAC Technologies, which provides input into the curriculum. After completing the program July 27, Russell started working for EDAC full time as a quality inspector, clock- ing about 50 hours per week, at a starting pay rate of $20 per hour. "The goal is to move up through the ranks as quickly as possible," Russell said. The linkage between Goodwin College and EDAC Technologies isn't wholly unique in Connecticut. In recent years, educational institutions, including technical high schools, com- munity or other colleges and four-year universities, have adopted programs specifically geared toward filling needs and skills in demand among Connecticut employers. It's a mutually beneficial relation- ship: schools, many of which are facing enrollment pressures, can offer programming with high job-placement rates, while companies get a workforce with the exact skills they want at an entry-level salary. And the partner- ships aren't just happening in the manufacturing sector, although it's more common there because of the high demand for jobs. In fields ranging from information technology and health care to insur- ance and even history, Connecticut companies are helping schools formu- late coursework they want future em- ployees to know. Some partnerships offer a direct pipeline to employment, while others aim to send off graduates with in-demand skills. "It's important to understand (indus- try) needs … and retool our programs so we can help students retool their skills for the needs of employers," said Matt Fleury, chairman of Connecticut's Board of Regents for Higher Education, which oversees the state's four state universities and community colleges. The most significant changes are oc- curring at community colleges, which have evolved into workforce-develop- ment engines, focused on getting stu- dents degrees or certificates that lead to specific jobs. In fact, the number of short, vocational credentials earned by students at public community colleges around the country more than doubled between 2000 and 2012. Community colleges in Connecticut currently offer 391 certificate pro- grams, according to state data. Goodwin, a private, not-for-profit col- lege that offers certificates, and two- to four-year degree programs, and EDAC started their partnership last November, said Cliff Thermer, the school's assistant vice president for strategy and busi- ness development. It's an offshoot of a 22.5-week comput- er numerical con- trol (CNC) machin- ing, metrology and manufacturing technology cer- tificate program, which teaches students about concepts like lean manufacturing, and skills, includ- ing the ability to read blueprints. The program's first seven weeks or so focus on classroom and lab learning to intro- duce students to the basic concepts of CNC manufacturing like technical drawing, manufacturing mathematics and machine safety. EDAC recruiters visit during this time to help teach and observe students, and eventually inter- view those who qualify for the next step. Students chosen by EDAC are then paid full-time salaries — about $400 per week — to work part time at the company while they finish their studies. Students who complete the program and are deemed a good em- ployment fit are hired for a full-time job starting at $20 per hour. "This thing turns into a 10-to 12- week interview process," said Dave Russell, EDAC's director of Next Gen Programs. "We get a good look at you, and you get a good look at us." Russell knows what it's like for students going through the Goodwin program. He started in manufacturing through an apprenticeship at Pratt & Whitney in 1970, and was responsible for all manufacturing at the jet-engine mak- er's Middletown location for a decade. Russell oversees for EDAC similar pro- grams at Asnuntuck, Manchester and Naugatuck Valley community colleges. His duties include quarterly meetings with faculty so he can share with de- partment heads what parts of their cur- riculum are proving beneficial to EDAC, and what parts need fine-tuning. That's an important aspect, he said, because the program amounts to a major investment for EDAC. It typically costs the company between $10,000 and $12,000 per pupil, which includes salary and benefits, tuition reimbursement and a sign-on bonus. Last year, EDAC hired 35 students who completed the program at four different colleges. This year his niece, Kiley Russell, was among the pro- gram's graduates hired upon completion. "It's not a cheap investment on the part of EDAC, by any means," Dave Russell said. "When we launched this, we took a risk." And school officials can tout high employ- ment-placement rates among pro- gram graduates, said Thermer. So far, all seven Goodwin College students ac- cepted to EDAC's program were hired there. "We built and tailored a program based on what [industry] needs are, and now we're beginning to recruit [students looking for work] in that industry," Thermer said. IT skills Workforce-development partner- ships between schools and businesses SPECIAL SERIES BUILDING CONNECTICUT'S WORKFORCE PIPELINE Industry Connections CT colleges, high schools tighten bonds with employers to feed jobs pipeline Certificate programs offered at CT community colleges College # of programs Naugatuck Valley 60 Gateway 53 Three Rivers 37 Manchester 33 Tunxis 29 Middlesex 28 Housatonic 27 Norwalk 26 Quinebaug Valley 26 Asnuntuck 26 Capital 25 Northwestern CT 21 Total 391 Source: Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Faculty and students interact during a computer numerical controlled course at Goodwin College. Goodwin and EDAC Technologies in Cheshire have partnered on a program to groom future manufacturing workers. HBJ PHOTO | BILL MORGAN

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