Everett Community College Expands Connections Between Aerospace Employers and Job Seekers

Click on photo for more information on EVCC's aviation training programs. Photo credit EvCC

Everett Community College Creates Aerospace Solutions Group

College Connects Employers with Workforce Development and Training Solutions

EVERETT, WASH. – Everett Community College has created the Aerospace Solutions Group, a move that will make the college more responsive to one of the fastest growing sectors of the local economy.

The new division will connect regional aerospace and manufacturing companies with workforce development and training solutions provided by the college.

“We will grow educational offerings to meet employer needs, develop more productive partnerships with industry and create seamless educational pathways that lead to employment for our students,” EvCC President David Beyer said.

The Aerospace Solutions Group leverages the expertise of several programs, including EvCC’s Aviation Maintenance Technician School, the Corporate & Continuing Education Center, and professional-technical programs in Welding, Machining, Composites, and Industrial Design among others.

New programs under development include short-term certificates in precision machining, composites, fiber optics, quality assurance, networking, and manufacturing essentials.

Aerospace Solutions Group provides employers with one-stop access to high-demand job training, professional continuing education, corporate training, curriculum design, certificates, degrees and apprenticeship opportunities. Information about aerospace education at EvCC is available at www.everettcc.edu/aerospace

“EvCC offers the most comprehensive selection of continuing education courses north of Bellevue and is the largest provider of contract training for the aerospace industry in Washington state,” said John Bonner, who leads the EvCC Aerospace Solutions Group. “By aligning these activities with our traditional certificate and degree programs we are able to better serve both students and employers.”

Solutions include:

One-stop access to services. Through a designated Aerospace Industry Liaison, the Aerospace Solutions Group provides a single point of contact for companies and a one-stop, comprehensive resource for employers to recruit, retain and develop a highly skilled workforce.

Recruiting: Direct access to skilled workers for high-demand jobs. EvCC works closely with industry to create short-term training certificates to train individuals with the technical skills needed to go from little or no experience in manufacturing to working for companies in a high- demand skill in 12 weeks or less. Longer-term programs prepare students with more advanced training and provide a pathway toward a two-year degree at EvCC or a four-year degree through the University Center of North Puget Sound. Employers can recruit graduates directly out of EvCC classes or through the college’s Job Center.

Corporate training solutions. EvCC will work with employers to identify needs and design training for a group of employees to be delivered on-site at local companies or at one of EvCC’s training facilities.

Life-long learning solutions. EvCC offers more than 600 courses a year to support the local workforce’s continuing education and professional development needs. Classes begin every month and are offered on an open-enrollment basis at times and locations that are convenient for employees. Courses are taught by facilitators with real-world industry experience using curriculum tied to industry standards.

To create the Aerospace Solutions Group, EvCC invested in a new associate dean position and selected EvCC’s Sheila Dunn to lead a new Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Careers department. The college expects to create efficiencies and build capacity for aerospace programs by re-aligning, organizing and focusing programs into a single division. EvCC’s Corporate and Continuing Education Center, located near Boeing’s Everett plant, will be the home of the group.

EvCC has offered training for aerospace careers for more than 40 years and works closely with Snohomish County aerospace suppliers to design programs to address their workforce needs. EvCC also has strong partnerships with the Boeing Company.

In the past six months, EvCC was awarded nearly $4 million dollars in grants to support aerospace and advanced manufacturing training.

Aerospace training at the college in both credit and non-credit programs has grown considerably over the past year in response to the shortage of employees with the skills needed to help design and build the current and future generation of airplanes, parts, and equipment.

Employers interested in learning more about the Aerospace Solutions Group should contact EvCC’s Aerospace Industry Liaison, John Bonner. Bonner leads the Aerospace Solutions Group and also serves as the Executive Director of EvCC’s Corporate & Continuing Education Center. Bonner can be reach at trainingsolutions@everettcc.edu.