Closing the Competitive Skills Gap: NTI Working with Business Leaders to Reinvent Workforce Development
Scarborough, ME (PRWEB) April 11, 2017 -- With the unemployment rate at a nine year low, manufacturers are struggling to fill open positions for semi-skilled production workers. The labor pool is shrinking at a time when demand for production capacity is at its highest point.
Northeast Technical Institute in Scarborough, Maine is working with Maine Career Centers in Portland to bridge the gap in workforce development for entry level workers. NTI’s Manufacturing Technician (Man Tech) program provides value for the student by keeping them focused on the basic employment needs of industry. In a span of eleven weeks, students learn industry fundamentals, blueprint reading, shop math, lean manufacturing, precision measurement, workplace safety, and workplace effectiveness. This 280-hour program combines classroom lecture, e-learning, and bench work to assimilate students into an agile workforce.
“This curriculum was conceived by employers from many industry sectors,” says Peter Weymouth, NTI’s Training Coordinator. “The magic happens when employers exploit the consistent output of work-ready talent entering the workforce every eleven weeks. Utilizing a high-velocity training model, the Man Tech program provides the job seeker with multiple options for employment in higher wage positions.”
Human Resource Director Cincy Caplice of SIGCO, Inc. in Westbrook, Maine says, “NTI has been a positive partner for SIGCO. Employers in Maine need employees with the very skills that are being taught in this Manufacturing Tech class. NTI’s response to the needs of employers is innovative and encouraging. We have hired several graduates from NTI and we’re looking for more!”
In response to the shortage of skilled workers in all manufacturing sectors, Northeast Technical Institute is taking a coalition approach as a service provider for the Maine Department of Labor Competitive Skills Scholarship Program (CSSP). CSSP is intended to provide individuals with access to education, training and support leading to skilled, well-compensated jobs with anticipated high employment demand, and to improve the economic well-being of the participants in the program.
About Northeast Technical Institute
Northeast Technical Institute (NTI) is Maine’s only locally owned and operated accredited career training school with campuses in Bangor, Scarborough and an extension campus in Lewiston. NTI is VA approved and offers Federal Financial Aid, grants and scholarships for many of its programs and for those who qualify. With its short-term, hands-on approach to training, NTI graduates are job-ready, may earn national certification, and are prepared to meet the industry’s staffing needs for qualified professionals. The school offers in-demand training for a range of medical programs, including Medical Assistant, Medical Lab Assistant, Medical Coding and Billing and Phlebotomy. HVAC/R and CDL Truck Driving are offered at the school’s Scarborough and Bangor campuses, Manufacturing Technician is offered in Scarborough, with plans to launch the program in Lewiston in 2017. Most programs at NTI start each month. For more information, contact 207.805.8000 or visit http://www.ntinow.edu.
Jeff Burbine, Northeast Technical Institute, http://www.ntinow.edu, +1 (800) 447-1151, [email protected]
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