CACT @ Fresno City College

Training for Fluency in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

On September 5, a training program was started to prepare students for entrance into the industrial maintenance technician workforce.  This program originated at the Fresno City College CACT from listening to the CACT Advisory Committee as to their needs for trained technicians to maintain their production lines.  Ken Olson, Director of the CACT program at FCC, wrote the curriculum to offer a 168-hour, 12-week program.  The CACT applied and received a two year IDRC grant to launch the program which took place at the City of Dinuba Vocational Training Center.  Three sessions of training classes were offered, graduating a total of 59 students who became very productive employed workers.  To continue this program, the CACT worked with Porterville College for one year to plan, modify curriculum, and re-model an existing abandoned welding lab in preparation to offer a 198-hour industrial Maintenance Technology 5 unit program.  The college promoted the program and was surprised that on the first day of class, the class filled with 24 students and 21 on the waiting list.  The class size was expanded to 31 students with 10 still waiting to get in.

This program in Porterville is being offered in response to local industry requesting such a program to address the serious shortage of skilled maintenance workers in the area.