December 3, 2012

Addressing industry growth, college offers machining classes

LONGMONT — Front Range Community College will offer machining classes in February in response to Northern Colorado manufacturers’ need for trained employees.

The college will offer non-credit, short-term training classes at the Career Development Center in Longmont. The first class, Introduction to Machining, lasts 81 hours and covers safety, tools, math, blueprint reading and other skills.

The college developed the curriculum after hearing from more than 30 manufacturers in Northern Colorado who said they want to hire an average of five machinists in the next year. The manufacturers serve the energy, aerospace, defense and medical technology industries.

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The companies employ as few as three machinists to as many as 175. The median salary for machinists last year was almost $20 per hour, or $40,800 annually, according to the college. Entry-level salaries averaged more than $13 per hour, or almost $28,000 annually.

Other more advanced classes are appropriate for a student who completed the introductory course or for a worker already in the industry who wants advanced skills.

“The content of the classes was developed by subject matter experts from the industry,´ said George Newman, the college’s program development coordinator for machining.

The first class is split evenly between classroom instruction and hands-on work in a machining lab at the Career Development Center, a part of the St. Vrain Valley School District.

The class will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from Feb. 4 to April 20.

An information session will be held Dec. 13 at the Boulder County Campus in Longmont for anyone interested in the training program. The meeting takes place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Classroom Building, 2190 Miller Drive in Longmont.

To register for the information meeting, contact Veronica Chavez at veronica.chavez@frontrange.edu or (303) 404-5462.


LONGMONT — Front Range Community College will offer machining classes in February in response to Northern Colorado manufacturers’ need for trained employees.

The college will offer non-credit, short-term training classes at the Career Development Center in Longmont. The first class, Introduction to Machining, lasts 81 hours and covers safety, tools, math, blueprint reading and other skills.

The college developed the curriculum after hearing from more than 30 manufacturers in Northern Colorado who said they want to hire an average of five machinists in the next year. The manufacturers serve the energy, aerospace, defense and medical technology industries.

The companies employ…

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