With the support of state education and manufacturing leaders, GOED'S technology commercialization unit has been developing a program for a fully integrated manufacturing career pathway. This program, called Learn and Earn Advanced Career Pathway, will train for the specific vocation of Advanced Manufacturing Technician and has been endorsed by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation Manufacturing Sector Council.
While the program will offer students a fully integrated career pathway from high school to college, the majority of students are expected to enter the advanced manufacturing workforce after obtaining an Associate in Applied Science degree in Advanced Manufacturing from either Western Nevada College or Truckee Meadows Community College. For students planning to pursue further studies for a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nevada Reno, a university track within the AAS will enable them to obtain sufficient credits to reduce the length of university study to three years. This integrated WNC/TMCC/UNR track is termed "2+3."
Honoring credits epitomizes the key characteristics of the fully integrated Pathway, starting in high school. A CTE program "Manufacturing Technologies" will be piloted at Sparks High School starting in Fall 2015. The course is being included in the 2015-16 CTE Course Catalog for statewide application.
After passing the state assessment for all three core Manufacturing Technologies courses (I, II and III) as well as the Workplace Readiness assessment for employable skills - and provided achievement of a 3.0 GPA - students will be issued a State Certificate of Skill Attainment in Manufacturing Technologies. This certificate will entitle them to earn up to 14 credits towards the AAS in Advanced Manufacturing, thereby reducing the length of study to two years.
The AAS at Community College also attempts to emulate the German vocational training on the job. Students taking the AAS will be employed by local manufacturers.
The program also takes into account that individual career paths are varied and study is not always sequential. The Pathway can be described as a highway with on and off ramps. Current manufacturing workers "off the Pathway" are encouraged to take Skill certificates - Certificates of Achievement or the MT1 Manufacturing Technician Certification - to "get back on" and reach a higher tier of their manufacturing career. An example of that Pathway component are classes offered jointly by the Carson City Library and WNC to study for the nationally recognized Manufacturing Technician Certification (MT1) awarded by the Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSi). In fact, through the independent position of the library, a large number of potential Pathway students can be reached. An effort is currently underway to broaden this concept from Carson City to Reno and potentially statewide.
Classes for the AAS in Advanced Manufacturing will be starting this fall, and Nevada manufacturers are encouraged to send their most talented workers to enroll in the program.
For more information contact:
Nevada Governor's Office
of Economic Development
800-336-1600
www.diversifynevada.com