Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • January 22, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com L incoln Tech is launching Feb. 19 its first vocational train- ing on computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools and programming at its East Windsor school in response to manufac- turers' growing demand for workers with CNC skills. But along with new CNC training, one of the nation's leading for-profit vocational- technical educators also has exposed its deepening relationship between its pupils and employer-sponsors who covet a first crack developing and hiring fresh talent. Lincoln, present in Greater Hartford since its 2009 purchase of former Baran Institute, says local and national employers increas- ingly want a hiring pipeline that taps the next generation of advanced manufacturers, auto mechanics, plumbing, electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning technicians, and healthcare aides. To that end, employers like East Hartford's Hoffman Auto Group, Matco Tools and CNC-technology provider Haas Automation are cementing groundbreak- ing sponsorship ties with Lincoln Tech and other vo-tech educators. At Lincoln's New Britain campus, for example, its heating- ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) lab's "Green Technology Room" is sponsored by Massachusetts HVAC wholesaler-distribu- tor F. W. Webb Co. In return, employer-sponsors like Hoff- man Auto Group get first dibs at mentor- ing, and later hiring, some of Lincoln's best talent, said Elliot Matos, service manager for Hoffman Audi, who helped his em- ployer and the German luxury automaker cement ties with Lincoln Tech. Matos, who is president of a coalition of Audi service managers in southern New England, describes Hoffman's and Audi's sponsor relationship with Lincoln as "mu- tually beneficial.'' "Its value to us is immeasurable,'' Matos said, "simply because that … is a program that is respectable and puts out good graduates.'' Jonathan Hoffman, a fourth-generation family member who oversees service, parts and the body shop, said Hoffman Auto is looking to grow partner relationships with other educators like Porter & Chester Institute, which also offers automotive- repair training, East Hartford's Goodwin College, and Massachusetts' Universal Technical Institute. Hoffman said the Lincoln classroom branding, and events like "Hoffman Auto Days,'' burnish the Hoffman name with pro- spective hires as well as potential car buyers. "We want to be the employer of choice,'' Hoffman said. Such relationships also benefit Lincoln Tech's quest to provide enrollees with more and diverse job opportunities after graduation, said Lou Vendrell, the school's vice president of product development. Lincoln launched its CNC curriculum largely in response to manufacturers' pleas in 2013, opening training centers in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Indianapolis, Vendrell said. Later, its CNC curriculum debuted in Mahwah, N.J., contributing to Lincoln's 555 CNC graduates so far. In Connecticut, Lin- coln's other campuses are in New Britain and Shelton. Lincoln's East Windsor campus also of- fers hands-on career training and profes- sional development in automotive, diesel, collision repair, welding, HVAC, electrical and renewable energy. Its New Britain campus offers training for medical as- sisting and practical nursing, plus HVAC and electrical. In Shelton, it offers medical assisting and practical nursing, along with culinary arts and electrical. Last year, Lincoln says more than 1,100 graduates from its three Connecticut schools went to work for more than 750 employers. Hoffman Auto Group has hired at least 22 Lincoln Tech graduates in the last three years, Matos said. One is auto technician Andrew Richard, 25, of Berlin, hired "liter- Workforce Development Lincoln Tech, employers match pupils' training with marketing Hoffman Auto Group service manager Elliot Matos (left) is the dealership's lead in recruiting fresh talent coming out of vocational-technical schools like Lincoln Tech. (Right) Hoffman Audi technician Andrew Richard. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED Two automotive classrooms at Lincoln Tech's East Windsor campus reflect a pair of corporate sponsors — East Hartford's Hoffman Auto Group and German marque Audi.

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