Akron, Ohio, June 15, 1999 With more than 2,000 highly skilled workers expected to retire by 2001, the Akron area's extensive machining and mold-making industry should get a major boost from a recently completed agreement between The University of Akron and the Akron Machining Institute (AMI).
Under the agreement, arranged with assistance from the Akron Regional Development Board (ARDB), graduates of AMI's journeyman machinist program will receive nearly half of the credit required for a two-year associate's degree in manufacturing engineering technology from the University's Community and Technical College. A four-year bachelor's degree also is available.
Located in Norton, AMI is operated by the National Tooling and Machine Association and provides students with instruction and on-the-job training at more than 100 participating machining and mold-making companies in the greater Akron area. The institute currently enrolls about 240 apprentice machinists and more than 100 pre-apprentice trainees in its four-year program. About 50 graduates complete the program annually with internationally recognized credentials as journeymen in such trades as machining and mold-making. Completing the University's degree program supplements AMI's technical training with optional programs in computer-aided manufacturing processes or industrial supervision.
The programs are very complementary, says Professor John Troche, the program coordinator. AMI brings skilled machinists into our degree programs, and the University offers these students the chance to build substantially on their training and enhance their career opportunities. Everybody wins.
AMI director Tim Duffy says the agreement boosts manufacturing training in the region because it helps shatter the common misperception that technical education is something students do instead of college.
This completes the circle for us, says Duffy. I hope it will lead more bright young people, their parents and counselors to understand that you don't have to make a choice between technical education and college. You can do both, and you can have a very rewarding career in an exciting industry.
Both Troche and Duffy credit ARDB for providing the leadership to bring the two institutions to an agreement. Sandy Auburn, vice president for workforce development at ARDB, says the importance of the partnership between AMI and the University is tied to the continuing importance of manufacturing to the Akron-area economy. About one fourth of Akron-area employment is in manufacturing, and machinery and metal fabrication embody one of the area's largest and highest wage manufacturing sectors. A steady flow of new skilled workers is critical to maintaining the industry's health, she says.
In addition to high retirement rates among high-skilled manufacturing workers in northeast Ohio, ARDB estimates the regional industry as a whole should average nearly 6,000 annual job openings between now and 2004.
The average age of machinists and mold makers in the Akron area is over 50, Auburn says. There are tremendous opportunities for young people in local manufacturing.
The high-wage jobs in today's manufacturing fields, however, require substantial training beyond high school, Auburn says, noting that modern manufacturing technology demands workers with skills in computers, mathematics and more.
The days of starting out without skills and moving up the ladder are pretty much gone, Auburn says. Some level of education and training after high school is essential for manufacturing jobs that offer real career potential. Really, it's a continuous process because there are always new skills to learn as technology continues to change.
Auburn says the Akron area is fortunate to have so many opportunities for technical training, such as AMI and the University's degree programs in manufacturing engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, electromechanical service technology, electronic engineering technology, polymer technology and computer-aided drafting.
For more information about technical training in the Akron area, contact the Akron Machining Institute at (330) 745-1111 or the University's Community and Technical College at (330) 972-5229.
