July 16, 2019 (Middletown, Conn.) — Middlesex Community College kicked off a five-week “Skill Up for Manufacturing” training program at Vinal Technical High School in Middletown on July 8. In addition to basic manufacturing skills such as milling and turning, students are learning soft skills in a simulated work environment.
Fifteen students are taking advantage of the free intensive course, which was established to fill the “skills gap” in manufacturing in Connecticut, according to MxCC manufacturing program director Tracy Ariel. “Due to the large number of retiring skilled workers and an increase in federal contracts awarded to Connecticut manufacturing companies, the state needs to fill 20,000 positions in the manufacturing field,” she explained.
Created by the state’s Workforce Alliance, MxCC administers the Middletown program and hires the faculty, with classes held at Vinal Tech’s manufacturing training facilities.
When Laura Linder of Clinton found herself unemployed, her wife told her about the program. “It’s a perfect fit and great timing for beginning a long-term career instead of working at multiple part-time jobs,” she said on the first day of class.
Another benefit of completing this course is that trainees will receive job search assistance and will be invited to hiring events and opportunities. Julius Delgado from Bristol, a student who currently works as a line cook, added, “Many manufacturing companies want to find someone who knows what they are doing.”
MxCC Campus CEO Steven Minkler welcomed the students at the kickoff class, along with blueprint reading instructor David Taylor and Jean Arnold-Barry from Workforce Alliance.
The Skill Up for Manufacturing program is accepting student applications on a rolling basis for the fall Middletown class. Another fall class will also be held at Gateway Community College in New Haven.
For more information, please visit https://mxcc.edu/skill-up.
Since 1966, Middlesex Community College has provided high-quality, affordable, and accessible education to a diverse population, enhancing the strengths of individuals through degree, certificate, and lifelong learning programs that lead to university transfer, employment, and an enriched awareness of our shared responsibilities as global citizens. A part of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, MxCC offers more than 70 degree or certificate programs at the 35-acre campus in Middletown, MxCC@Platt in Meriden, and online.
