EvCC to add offerings in Arlington

  • By John Wolcott For The Herald Business Journal
  • Sunday, April 24, 2016 8:26am
  • Business

ARLINGTON — Modern technology training programs are coming to north Snohomish County.

In June, Everett Community College will launch new programs in Arlington to prepare students and workers for jobs in aerospace and manufacturing industries.

Inspired by EvCC’s successful Advanced Manufacturing and Training Center, known as AMTEC, Arlington community leaders are planning for similar successes here.

Partners in the new venture include the college, Arlington School District, the City of Arlington and local industries.

Ideas for the new education venture were first generated by the combined effort between Arlington and Darrington to develop new economic and community vitality in the area.

That plan recently advanced the two cities to the semi-final round of the America’s Best Cities’ national competition to compete with 14 other cities for a $3 million prize.

“We’ve been working hard to develop a new education and training program that will benefit students, employers and technology enterprises,” Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert said. “Now we’re taking the first step toward adding those valuable resources for residents, students, job seekers and people already working in industrial and technology fields.”

The first AMTEC-North classes are expected to begin with a limited curriculum in June, according to Everett Community College officials.

Temporary space has been provided in the Arlington School District’s Weston High School west of the Arlington Airport,

“Improving access to higher education benefits the local economy,” Everett Community College President David Beyer said in an e-mail. “Earning a college degree or certificate pays off for students by leading to higher-wage jobs.

“Many of our graduates go on to work at local companies in need of skilled employees.”

Tolbert sees the development of an AMTEC-North facility as a new way to allow students to earn industry-related college certificates or degrees in manufacturing and technology skills needed to excel in industrial workplaces, a venture she expects to be fully developed within the next two to three years.

Ultimately, AMTEC-North will train students for high demand jobs in aerospace, maritime, transportation infrastructure, aviation and related industries.

The site will include a replicated manufacturing facility, using industry-driven curriculum and employing cutting-edge technologies, adding a fresh new layer to the area’s available education and skilled training courses.

“We believe that educating a workforce is paramount in order to meet our needs,” said Jeff Kurtz, operations manager at Absolute Manufacting, which is part Senior Operations.

There is and has been a shortage of semi-skilled and skilled labor in the area to fill the positions required to support our customers.

With the current aircraft industry projections, and business contracts with 20-year durations, this shortage will only continue to grow. ”

Kurtz said the company’s involvement with Arlington High School, Everett Community College and the state’s Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee “allows us to give feedback to the curriculum about areas we see as important when we bring on new employees.”

He said his company has 97 employees but needs more, evidenced by the presence of “Hiring Now” signs in front of its headquarters.

Just south of his building is Senior Operations AMT facility, with 475 employees. Together the two enterprises fill seven buildings in the business park. Senior Operations also has a third plant in Snohomish County, DAMAR, with 154 employees, in Monroe.

The Senior Operations companies’ products are found in Boeing Co. Airliners and Bombardier’s business jets.

Arlington School District Superintendent Kristine McDuffy said she’s “excited about continuing joint efforts with Arlington, Everett Community College and local businesses to offer new programs to help prepare students and workers for jobs in the manufacturing sector.

As the programs, grow there will be more opportunities for students, young people and production workers to further their education within the area, including preparation for specific manufacturing and production jobs.”

The district already has created an innovative K-12 STEM curriculum and will work with the AMTEC North facility to create certificate training programs to help students find jobs in local industries, according to a recent joint news release by the school district and Everett Community College.

Current AMTEC programs provided by Everett Community College include training in precision machining, welding, fabrication, composite materials, engineering and mechatronics, a synergistic combination of precision engineering, electronic control and mechanical systems.

Tolbert said the influx of new training courses will benefit growing local manufacturing and technology businesses, such as Universal Aerospace, Senior AMT, Senior Absolute and ABW Technologies, noting that as the training program develops it will be able to support other manufacturers in the county, including Everett’s Boeing plant, where as many as 14,000 manufacturing jobs will need to be filled over the next five years.

In the future, Arlington also plans to develop 1 million square feet of new manufacturing space to encourage industrial expansion and relocation to Arlington.

“We’re working closely with the City of Marysville to secure a Manufacturing Industrial Council (MIC) regional designation,” Tolbert said.

That plan will encourage North County development at Arlington’s airport industrial park as well as in a new business park being developed by Marysville north of the city.

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