By Faughn Education • Workforce 0 Comments

Manufacturing pipeline grows stronger with FAME at Reedley College

A new era in workforce development is underway at Reedley College as the first cohort of students enters the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) era.

The students celebrated their participation in the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) program as part of a nationally recognized model designed to close the skills gap in modern manufacturing.

Reedley College hosted the Central Valley FAME Signing Day on Monday, July 28, celebrating the launch of the Central Valley chapter of the FAME — the first in California and west of the Rocky Mountains.

The students were signed up by various local employers to go through the program. If they complete their free training, they can get hired permanently.

Developed by industry leaders, FAME provides technical training, hands-on experience and workforce-readiness skills to prepare students for well-paying careers in manufacturing. The local chapter is a collaboration between Reedley College, the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA), the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation and regional employers.

“It’s a bold commitment to workforce development, innovation and the bright future of American manufacturing,” said Reedley College President Jerry Buckley. “The FAME program represents a proven model that addresses one of today’s most pressing challenges — the growing skills gap in advanced manufacturing.”

Workforce, education unite

Through internships, apprenticeships and industry certifications, students build job-ready experience while earning a paycheck. The program allows participants to graduate with less debt, more technical experience and direct access to in-demand careers.

“The Central Valley is building a pipeline of talent that’s ready to compete and win in the local economy,” said Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), who spoke alongside Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and State Center Community College District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith.

Fong emphasized the region’s vital role in California’s economy and praised the collaborative effort between education and industry.

“I don’t think any of you [students] consider yourself trailblazers, but you are the first,” he told students. “You can chart your path. Every cohort after you will model their goals and actions after all of you.”

An industry-led movement

Genelle Taylor Kumpe, CEO of the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance, said that having industry lead this initiative marks a “monumental movement” for workforce development in the region.

“What we have here — that maybe other regions don’t — is a deep sense of collaboration,” she said. “It’s the public and private sectors, education and employers working together to invest in talent and the future.”

Ellie Obregon, VP of human resources at Lyons Magnus, a sponsor of the local FAME chapter, said programs like this help address the ongoing shortage of skilled candidates in the manufacturing sector.

“Manufacturing is a skill that’s hard to find good candidates for,” Obregon said. “That’s why we partner with schools — to attract students early, offer tuition reimbursement, and give them a career path.”

She added that Lyons Magnus is always looking ahead, building a workforce pipeline through training and development.

Other participating companies include Lakos, Betts Company, Keiser Corporation, Wawona Frozen Foods, ADCO Packaging Machinery Company, Bee Sweet Citrus, Trillium and Excelsior.

https://thebusinessjournal.com/manufacturing-pipeline-grows-stronger-with-fame-at-reedley-college/

By Faughn Economy • Education • Workforce 0 Comments

Fresno Area’s Newest College Grads Boast Nearly $24 Billion in Earning Power

Thousands of students are graduating from local universities and transitioning into the work world, bringing fresh faces and ideas — and immense career earning power. Fresno County is home to Fresno State, Fresno Pacific, and California Health Sciences University. Additionally, University of California, Merced is just an hour away. The four universities report a total of almost 8,500 students walking at commencement this spring. This includes hundreds of students receiving master’s and doctorate degrees. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce says a bachelor’s degree holder will earn a median average of $2.8 million during their career — 75% more than the median average for a high school grad ($1.6 million). Multiply the Fresno area’s 8,500 college graduates by $2.8 million and their career earning power computes to $23.8 billion.

However, the figure is conservative because of California’s higher wages and the expected lifetime earnings of grads with master’s degrees ($3.2 million) and doctorates ($4 million). And it doesn’t include 2025 graduates from schools such as University of Phoenix-Fresno and National University-Fresno. Now here’s more good news for the Fresno economy: Much of that income will be generated, invested, and spent here. Based on data from Lightcast, an economic data mining service that the CSU partners with, of the 20,701 public profiles of Fresno State alumni who graduated between 2015 and 2025, 83.96% live and work in Central California, said Fresno State public information officer Lisa Bell. The other universities do not track where students go after college, but an analysis by Tallo, a website that connects students with resources, showed that 61% of college students plan on finding a job close to where they attended college. In addition, UC Merced and Fresno State report that over 50% of the graduating class are first-generation students.

Top Majors Among Graduates

The programs promising the highest pay are all STEM courses, but there is a wide variety of top majors from the four universities. Engineering and computer science are highest-paying majors according to Forbes. Both were a part of UC Merced’s most popular majors alongside biological sciences. However, Fresno States’ top majors were psychology, liberal studies, and biology. Fresno Pacific undergrads swayed towards liberal arts and early childhood development. There’s a clear mix of humanities, social sciences, and sciences among the Central Valley graduates, promising an even distribution between fields. California Health Sciences University had 109 medical students, and 22 master’s program students graduate with 23% completing residencies in the Central Valley. Sixty percent of the residencies are in Primary Care.

Breakdown of Colleges and Degrees

Fresno State had the biggest graduating class with 6,018 students walking at commencement: 5,125 receiving bachelor’s degrees and 866 getting their master’s. The doctoral cohorts and candidates consisted of 58 students receiving Doctor of Physical Therapy, Doctor of Educational Leadership, and Doctor of Nursing Practice. The College of Science and Mathematics had the largest class with a little over 1,000 graduates. UC Merced had 1,417 students walk at commencement with 1,296 getting a bachelor’s degree, 41 receiving a master’s degree, and 80 obtaining doctorates. The School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts had the largest class with 781 students walking. Fresno Pacific held ceremonies for 863 students graduating this spring. There were 467 students completing a bachelor’s degree and 396 students finishing a master’s degree. The largest number of students, 636, graduated from the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

https://gvwire.com/2025/06/20/fresno-areas-newest-college-grads-boast-nearly-24-billion-in-earning-power/

By Faughn Economy • Education • Food Processing • Top Stories 0 Comments

‘Overnight success that has taken 30 years’: Wonderful’s Resnick jokes with audience at Shafter ribbon-cutting

His success in business is evident across the southern Central Valley, in sprawling ag fields and in a large distribution hub in Shafter. But it’s not often Stewart Resnick is seen at large events in Kern County. Late Thursday morning, though, the co-owner of Los Angeles-based The Wonderful Co. walked up, stood before an audience of more than 200 people just north of 7th Standard Road and took a moment to adjust the microphone downward. Then he opened with a joke.

Resnick, diminutive in a blue button-down, long-sleeve shirt and jeans, said normally when he comes to such events people look around and say, “You’re Stewart Resnick?”

“I say, ‘I used to be 6 foot 4. My competition came and beat me into the ground,'” he said.

He’s humble, folks. Even when surrounded by dignitaries celebrating another one of his company’s large investments in the local economy. Resnick had come to join them to mark the opening of Wonderful’s new Amenities Center, a gleaming new complex with a tech training center, office building and subsidized restaurant with an urgent care center still to come. The center serves as the welcoming heart of the Wonderful Logistics Center, which the company proposes to almost double in the years to come. If the City Council approves, the company hopes also to build thousands of new homes for workers and their families.

Resnick called the already large development “one of our most ambitious projects,” a state-of-the-art facility populated by Fortune 500 companies on land where three decades ago there were only orchards.

“This is an overnight success that has taken 30 years,” he quipped after thanking those in attendance for sharing the day.

“Now let’s go show the world what Shafter and the Central Valley can do!” he said in closing.

Wonderful has already had a big impact on farming communities in the valley portion of Kern County, especially in Lost Hills and Delano, where in addition to being a major employer, the company has opened charter academies, wellness centers and more. Shafter is the next big focus. If Wonderful moves forward with an expansion of the distribution-center hub, the logistics center’s employment base is expected to expand over time from about 13,000 to 50,000. Housing units the company proposes to build would expand Shafter’s population by about 40%. The Amenities Center is sort of a precursor to those developments. Its training center works in partnership with Amazon and Bakersfield College to introduce job-seekers to tech-oriented warehouse jobs. The office building boasts numerous art pieces, and the restaurant serves healthy meals at relatively low prices.

Thursday’s gathering drew representatives of many of Kern’s most prominent business, government and educational organizations, many of whom accepted offers to tour the new buildings. Resnick’s humility was matched by that of invited speaker Supervisor David Couch, who said he was coming from a local government perspective when he told the audience, “We can’t do anything, and I mean anything, until you all make something, provide a service.”

“The revenue that local government gets comes because you all come to work every day,” Couch said. “It all starts because somebody … took the risk to invest their money in this community.”

Shafter Mayor Chad Givens was up next. He said the city prides itself on how business operates in Shafter and how it is able to move in operators as fast as possible.

“We’re a very business friendly city and we’re thankful for that,” he said before expressing gratitude to Wonderful for its work in the city.

Former City Manager John Guinn, now Wonderful Real Estate’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, told the crowd Resnick and his wife, Lynda Resnick, have shown their commitment to the families of the Central Valley. In his experience, they want nothing more than for the region to become a strong, vibrant place to live.

“Everything they talk about, they actually do,” he said. “That’s uncommon.”

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/overnight-success-that-has-taken-30-years-wonderfuls-resnick-jokes-with-audience-at-shafter-ribbon/article_69e65582-0b2f-4266-bec6-8130c9954d6e.html

By Faughn Education • Workforce 0 Comments

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

By Faughn Economy • Education • Workforce 0 Comments

High-Speed Rail, High-Quality Jobs: Career Trek Shows Students Opportunities

California high-speed rail, a multibillion-dollar project designed to connect the Central Valley to Los Angeles and the Bay Area, promises swift transportation, the protection of agricultural land and contributions to a cleaner environment.

It’s also providing a lot of jobs – from design to construction to, eventually, operation.

UC Merced engineering students recently got the chance to see what opportunities might be available to them. Roughly 25 students took part in a Career Trek to visit the California High-Speed Rail Central Valley Regional Office in Fresno, as well as the Hanford and Cedar viaducts.

Career Treks are offered by the university’s Student Career Center. Students are taken on industry-specific recruiting trips to regions within California, hearing from employers about their professional journeys and the pathways they followed to career success.

Manny Machado, engineering career specialist in UC Merced’s Student Career Center, coordinated the March visit with help from two colleagues, employer services manager Magali Torres and internship and employer services coordinator Xue Lee.

“A Career Trek is when students have the chance to visit a nearby organization to hear more about their recruitment efforts, and to learn more about the work that they do,” Machado said. “During these trips, students get the opportunity to tour facilities, hear about job and internship opportunities they can get involved with, network with employees of that organization and hear more about professional pathways at said organization.

“These Career Treks are also a good way to expose scholars to different career industries while also giving them a chance to showcase their skillsets.”

Students met with engineering professionals at the rail project’s regional office.

“These professionals gave insight to their professional journeys, gave advice on how students can be proactive in their career development and talked about how the different engineering disciplines are needed on a large-scale project like this,” Machado said.

Final designs for the high-speed rail project call for about 500 miles of track stretching from Southern California to San Francisco. The first segment, in various stages of construction since 2015, is a 170-mile stretch from Merced to Bakersfield.

At the project’s Hanford Viaduct, students learned about environmental considerations for construction sites, toured the top of the structure, heard how the structure will become earthquake proof and learned more about the professional experiences of the construction site managers. Students learned more about these issues at the Cedar Viaduct; because it’s further along in construction, they could compare the sites’ development.

Students also learned about the different engineering disciplines required for this work. As the project continues to develop, there will be different roles needed at different times. For example, once construction is further developed, electrical engineers will be vital in incorporating components needed for the stations and tracks. Other opportunities soon to be available include internships with partner organizations such as Stantec and Caltrans. And once work begins on the rail’s Merced station, there likely will be more chances for UC Merced students to be involved.

For this particular Career Trek, participating students had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Once construction gets further along and trains start to run stations, the tours currently being hosted will no longer be offered to the public.

Students interested in learning more about Career Treks get can look at Instagram and view the events calendar through Handshake or go to the Career Center website.

The Student Career Center typically offers one or two Career Treks during the academic year. Previous destinations include Gallo and LinkedIn.

https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2024/high-speed-rail-high-quality-jobs-career-trek-shows-students-opportunities

By Faughn Back Office • Economy • Education 0 Comments

VOLT Institute

VOLT Institute Implements Changes for Enhanced Realism in Training

Enhancing Practical Skills and Safety: VOLT Institute is rolling out changes starting this March to make its training more reflective of real-world job experiences in production settings. Key updates include a stricter emphasis on attendance, punctuality, continuous safety practices, and lean manufacturing principles, notably 5S and TIMWOODS wastes, along with GEMBA, JIT, and Kaizen for continuous improvement. Shifts and Timeclock Integration: To mimic actual job settings, students will now use a timeclock for tracking attendance, refer to sessions as “shifts”, and participate in shift change meetings to discuss safety, key topics, and foster engagement in learning and skills development.

Expanding Access with VOLT On the Go (VOTG)

Reaching Underserved Communities: Funded by an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant, VOTG aims to extend VOLT’s educational offerings to investors and underserved communities. The program provides practical knowledge in essential technical areas through a hands-on approach, enabling entry into the job market. Partnerships with Amatrol and SACA support equipment provision and micro-certification, ensuring significant skill development. Successful Launch and Future Plans: The VOTG Mechanical Drives course, initiated in partnership with Turlock Adult School, saw a promising start with 13 attendees learning vital mechanical skills. With more classes on the horizon, these courses, free to the public via an EDA grant, offer invaluable “hands-on” training within local communities.

VOLT On the Go Gains Momentum

Highlight at Economic Elevate: At the recent Turlock Economic Elevate, VOLT showcased the VOTG program’s potential to empower local communities and attract investor interest. Demonstrations of Amatrol’s portable training units underscored the program’s flexibility and efficiency in delivering technical skills training on the go.

New Scholarship Opportunities

Supporting Local Residents: New scholarships, thanks to contributions from several city councils and Aemetis Inc., are now available for residents interested in pursuing maintenance mechanic careers at VOLT Institute, demonstrating ongoing community support and commitment to workforce development.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:61a8e814-b867-4146-b614-87b5b3053f34

By Faughn Education • New Developments 0 Comments

‘University Community Development’ dream is alive and well

The Virginia Smith Trust — which at one time controlled all the land that UC Merced is on, and the land south of the University on Old Lake Road — is still very active.

There’s a plan that’s moving along to boost an already significant scholarship fund for high school students across the county through the development of a University Community on the remaining VST land, near the campus.

This plan includes the construction of 4,000 dwelling units for all income levels, 862,000 square feet of retail/office space, a K-8 school, a fire station, sports park and recreation center, a MCOE Scholars Academy, and its own police sub-station.

All of this is making its way through the local government approval process and state review. The plan is expected to take 15 years for completion, and the backers of the project are optimistic of receiving the go-ahead. It is the only project which presently has all the environmental clearance for such a project in that northern area of Merced.

It is a major undertaking; however, when it’s completed, it will meet the dreams of the Virginia Smith family in providing scholarships for students to go to get their degree.

Not everyone is on board. There is an element of the city saying, “This is great for the north part of the city, but what about South Merced, and what about affordable housing?”

Steve Peck, the project manager, spoke at the Merced Rotary Club last week and answered questions about the plan and timetable for meetings with the various agencies. He said it was a case of completing the promise made many years ago.

“We don’t want to take anyone for granted,” Peck said. “This is really about providing a means for our local children to gain a college education.”

While the terms of the Virginia Trust make it clear the scholarship program is for four-year college programs, it does not exclude Merced College which now offers some four year degrees.

Without the Virginia Trust there is no way UC Merced would have located in the Merced area. When the decision was made to locate the UC campus, both Madera and Fresno were in the race and seemed to have the upper hand. Bob Carpenter and other people like Tim O’Neill were major players in bringing the university to Merced.

Even after Merced was named as the location for the university, a major legal challenge forced it to locate on a public golf course, and not on the other side of the lake where many thought it should be built. The opponents used the Fairy Shrimp species as a means of challenging the use of most of the land given to the UC Merced by the Virginia Smith Trust, which is essentially made up of Merced County Office of Education Board members.

In getting the California Regents to decide on Merced for its location, the local committee came up with a stroke of genius and asked the school children to sign post cards urging the Regents to locate in Merced. At a critical time those postcards arrived at the Regents meeting and the result was tremendous. Merced was decided as the best location.

As the Virginia Smith project winds its way though the labyrinth of meetings, the first one was held on July 12 at the county’s Planning Commission, to be followed by a second meeting of the commission on Aug. 9. The Merced County Board of Supervisors will hear the proposal on Aug. 22. Then a tentative meeting with the Merced City Council is set up for Oct. 6 over the need to annex the area, perhaps in December.

If all goes well, the Virginia Smith Project will start on January of 2025, and they are hoping to have the first homes for sale or rent on June in 2026. Completion of the project is slated for 2042.

https://mercedcountytimes.com/university-community-development-dream-is-alive-and-well/

By Faughn Education • New Developments 0 Comments

West Hills College officials host groundbreaking for new Lemoore Visual Arts and Applied Science Building in Lemoore

On Friday morning this week, West Hills College Lemoore officials and guests hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at its campus in Lemoore to celebrate the construction of a new Visual Arts & Applied Sciences (VAAS) Building.

Guests were told that this state-of-the-art, 44,382-square-foot facility will serve as a hub for laboratory classrooms, career technical education programs, and nursing and health careers, addressing the growing demand for high-paying jobs in our community.

The VAAS building will be a cornerstone in the college’s mission to provide students with innovative educational opportunities and practical skills. Modern laboratories will allow students to gain hands-on, high-paying jobs in the community.

College officials say the VAAS building is set to be a cornerstone in the college’s mission to provide students with innovative educational opportunities and practical skills. Modern laboratories will offer students the chance to gain hands-on experience in various fields. At the same time, dedicated spaces for career technical education and health career programs will ensure that the curriculum is aligned with local industry needs, preparing students for in-demand jobs and contributing to the region’s healthcare workforce.

“This new building is another significant step forward in our commitment to delivering high-quality education and training opportunities to our students,” said West Hills College President James Preston in a press release before Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony.

“The VAAS building will feature an innovative blend of educational programs in the areas of Health Careers, Information Technology, and Visual Arts that will empower our students and community and enhance our capacity to meet local industry demands,” said Preston.

The groundbreaking ceremony signifies the beginning of a new era for the college and represents a substantial investment in the future of education and the economic vitality of the community.

http://www.mylemooreleader.com/181099

By Faughn Education 0 Comments

West Hills College Lemoore Awards Nearly $200,000 in NSF S-STEM CORES Scholarships

West Hills College Lemoore recently awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM CORES Scholarships to 20 STEM students studying Biology, Engineering, Physics and Math.

The scholarships, valued at up to $10,000 annually per student ($5,000 per semester) for a maximum of four semesters, are part of WHCL’s commitment to developing future STEM leaders, the school stated in a release.

Recipient students will find comprehensive support, including a dedicated faculty mentor and complementary tutoring for courses, monthly cohort meetings and seminars, field trips each semester, and paid research opportunities. Thanks to the scholarship, two students will have the chance to attend conferences a year.

“To be eligible, students must be enrolled at West Hills College Lemoore in a STEM major, exhibit academic dedication, and genuine financial need,” said Kurt Sterling, Dean of Education at WHCL. “Our college wants to make it easier for students to tackle their living expenses and basic needs while focusing on academics. We hope that these scholarships contribute to their success.”
This academic year, the college will distribute nearly $200,000 in NSF S-STEM CORES Scholarships, half of which is being disbursed today. A second distribution is planned for the next semester.

“The access to SI tutors, myriad STEM opportunities, and activities have been invaluable. I’m also grateful for the MESA program and future internship opportunities,” said Emily Rocha, a WHCL Biology sophomore and first-time recipient.

Next year, Rocha plans to transfer to a four-year university, aiming for a healthcare career.

The president of WHCL, James Preston, added, “Our mission is to remove barriers and provide opportunities. These scholarships are more than just financial aid; they invest in our students’ futures and potential to contribute to the STEM community.”

https://hanfordsentinel.com/business/west-hills-college-lemoore-awards-nearly-200-000-in-nsf-s-stem-cores-scholarships/article_55abf23f-40df-5f25-b6fe-655a55f2ade5.html