Jan. 6 was a big day for Kellogg Community College in digital media: In addition to posting one of the most popular posts in KCC Facebook history, KCC was featured in a Huffington Post article about apprenticeship programs.
The article, “Apprenticeship Programs at Community Colleges,” covers what author Tom Snyder, president of Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College, calls “apprenticeship programs that lead to well-paying jobs in the factories of the future.”
Community colleges like KCC, Snyder writes, “are looking for opportunities to implement curricula with local manufacturers to train their workforce, many of whom have decades on the job, in the skills that will see them through the rest of their careers.”
KCC is among just a handful of community colleges in the nation Snyder singles out in the article for their partnering with local manufacturers to provide valuable apprenticeship programs for students. KCC’s wide-ranging Industrial Trades curricula at the College’s Regional Manufacturing Technology Center in Battle Creek are recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor and are used by many regional companies for apprenticeship-related training instruction.
In fact, all off KCC’s Industrial Trades core curricula may be used to develop an apprenticeship program, including:
- Electricity and Electronics
- Industrial Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
- Instrumentation
- Industrial Technology
- Machining Technology
- Pipefitting
- Renewable Energy
- Tool and Die
- Welding
According to Snyder, the benefits of apprenticeship training for students are clear.
“The Department of Labor estimates that 87 percent of apprentices are fully employed after they finish their programs,” Snyder writes, “and the average starting salary is $50,000.”
For more information about apprenticeship opportunities available through KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/apprenticeships or contact the KCC Admissions office at 269-965-4153.