BC partners with Amazon, Wonderful on industrial workforce training
Bakersfield College will become just the fifth institution in the United States, and the only one near the West Coast, to offer a certification program teaching apprentices at Amazon to become electromechanical technicians. The program is a three-organization partnership in that the e-commerce giant will contract with BC to train the company’s employees and employees of The Wonderful Co. will be hired by the college for the purpose of supporting the training. The training itself is planned to take place at The Wonderful Career Center in Shafter.
The company’s Reliability and Maintenance Engineering program is being funded by a $1.37 million contribution from the Bakersfield College Foundation’s donor-funded Innovation Fund, which will pay for the initiative’s training equipment. Companies that develop and operate local distribution centers have prioritized workforce development in recent years as they try to keep up with increased demand for people who can not only handle products in warehouses but also maintain and repair machinery, some of it automated, inside the buildings.
BC President Jerry E. Fliger said in a news release the partnership is an example of what career technical education should be — “effective and directly connected to industry needs.”
“Working together with industry leaders like Amazon and Wonderful bridges education and workforce development,” he added. “Because of this collaboration, BC will provide individuals with real skills that lead to high-paying, in-demand jobs.”
Added Cheryl Scott, executive director of the BC Foundation, “This partnership with Amazon is a perfect example of how strategic investments in education can transform lives and industries.”
A BC spokeswoman said by email Monday apprentices who advance through the program can get eight certifications showing their knowledge of industrial electricity, mechanical components, fluid power and programmable logic controllers. When they finish, they will receive a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor recognizing them as an electromechanical technician. The in-person, classroom-learning portion of the program is expected to run for 12 weeks. The apprenticeship aspect comprises 2,000 work hours.
“By working alongside Amazon and The Wonderful Company, we’re ensuring students gain the skills needed to thrive in today’s workforce,” Rozanne Hernandez, BC’s dean of career technical education, said in the news release.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bc-partners-amazon-wonderful-industrial-035900838.html