Meet Larry Clark, welding, metal fab, and fabrication technologies program instructor. He has been with the College for 18 years and worked in the welding industry prior.
“The last job I had required me to teach most new hires,” Larry said. “When their business got slow, I thought I would try to give back to my field and show other people how to do what I had learned.”
Moraine Park Technical College
held its bi-annual Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Thursday,
December 13. The College had 23 students graduate from the program; 10 from the
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 13 from the welding
boot camp.
This program was
designed to combat the skilled worker shortage by offering a variety of boot
camp sessions. The boot camp sessions are free to participants, teach skills
that are unique to a particular pathway, and connect students with area
employers. The program also combines a 144-hour paid internship with
coursework, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem
Solving, and program-specific courses. Participating internship sites for this
session were Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Fives Giddings &
Lewis, Integrity Saw & Tool, Mayville Engineering Company, Metalcraft of
Mayville, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Wabash National, and Weasler
Engineering.
Since the induction of these
sessions in 2012, Moraine Park has had 298 students graduate from the welding
and CNC boot camp programs.
Those who
completed the most recent CNC boot camp include: Darlene Anderson of Fond du
Lac, Nicole Busack of West Bend, Robert
Fisher of North Fond du Lac, Ryan Gaus of Fond du Lac, Cory Herrmann of Fond du Lac, Kyle
Jenquine of Fond du Lac, Montgomery Kikkert of Fox Lake, Carissa Metz of
Waupun, Rick Rodriguez of Fond du Lac, and Alex Russart of Fond du Lac.
Those who
completed the welding boot camp include: Brennan Bryan of Fond du Lac, Nita
Cook of Beaver Dam, Jennifer Donahue of Beaver Dam, Jordan Finley of DeForest,
Dave Finn of Fond du Lac, Michelle Flanagan of Plymouth, Casey Hermann of Fond
du Lac, Frank Huber of Juneau, Amy Mann of Fond du Lac, Noah Prost of
Watertown, Cecilia Tovar of Beaver Dam, Jeremiah Vanderkin-Jus of Fond du Lac,
and Brian Wilcox of Fond du Lac.
The graduation
ceremony included speeches from students Busack and Mann.
Busack, a CNC
graduate, is grateful for the experience Moraine Park gave her through the boot
camp program.
“A lot of us have
worked dead end jobs, and didn’t know our hidden potential,” said Busack. “Thanks
to Moraine Park and our instructors, we all have a chance to find it. This has
opened so many doors for a lot of us.”
Busack served her
program internship at Signicast in Hartford and was hired full-time prior to
graduation.
Mann, a welding
graduate, came to Moraine Park in search of a career she could be passionate
about. She completed her internship at Mayille Engineering Company (MEC) and
was also hired on as a full-time employee prior to graduation.
“The boot camp
program taught me that if there’s something I really want to accomplish, I can
do it,” Mann said. “I am standing here today as a welder, a high school
graduate, and a newly hired employee of Mayville Engineering Company.”
Moraine Park’s
Skills Academy boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to grant
dollars from Wisconsin Fast Forward and financial support from area businesses
including Amerequip, Apache Stainless, Elkay Interior Systems, Fives, Integrity
Saw & Tool, Inc., John Deere Horicon Works, John Crane, Mayville
Engineering Company, Midstates Aluminum Corporation, Signicast, SJI/Busse, and
Wabash National.
“We are very
pleased to participate with Moraine Park’s CNC boot camp again this semester,”
Paul Reetz, owner of Ingetrity Saw & Tool, Inc. said. “We have been able to
gain quality employees who are advanced on the learning curve. The
program teaches them to become a valuable member of our company by the time they
become full-time employees at the end of the semester. It’s a rare
win-win-win situation for all involved in the partnership!”
In addition, welding training is also funded,
in part, through a GPR grant that incorporates both Adult Basic Education and
welding. The purpose of this training is to allow students seeking their High
School Equivalency Diploma (HSED), the opportunity to take the welding boot
camp in conjunction. This training opportunity is open to anyone interested in
pursuing their HSED.
Individuals interested
in learning more about the CNC and welding boot camp opportunities are
encouraged to attend a Boot Camp Test Drive event scheduled at Moraine Park’s
Fond du Lac campus on January 23 and 24. Registration is recommended.
Moraine Park’s boot camps are three-month programs that prepare students for a career in welding or computer numerical control (CNC) machining. They aim to combat the current skilled worker shortage in the industry. Without the commitment of our business partners, this training wouldn’t be possible.
October’s Manufacturing Month has wrapped up for 2018, but not without some great efforts put forward by Moraine Park’s staff throughout the entire month.
Calling all future welders, now is the time to check out Moraine Park’s welding program in Beaver Dam! This technical diploma program can help you earn a welding career in just 1-year.
Reading and hearing about new career opportunities is helpful. But what if you actually could try them out as well? Moraine Park Technical College is offering a unique opportunity to do just that with its “Test Drive” workshops for welding and computerized numerical control (CNC). Continue reading
Moraine Park Technical College held its 13th annual Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Friday, May 25. The College had 20 students graduate from the program; eight from the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 12 from the welding boot camp.
On Friday, March 9, 2018, three Moraine Park students, Vanessa Grimm, Matt Trapp and Genna Borths, visited Miller Electric in Appleton to try out a welding machine that features a new innovative approach in welding technology.
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