Anderson Oconee Pickens

Tri-County Offers New Web-Based Maintenance Training Program

CONTACT: JOHN BENSON, 646-1717 OR JAY SLOAN, 646-1721

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/8/2003
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- Last year Tri-County Technical College invited industrial leaders to campus to get their input on a new web-based maintenance training program it was considering offering through the College's World Class Training Center.

After hearing presentations on how this total training solution maximizes employee performance and significantly reduces training costs, the nearly 40 managers in attendance gave a unanimous thumbs up to the program. Since then, Tri-County and the state's other 15 technical colleges have partnered with PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning to deliver this one-of-kind training program which blends online technical training with hands-on lab evaluations to improve employee performance.

"In today's highly competitive environment, area companies require flexible training combined with demonstrated proficiency in performing maintenance tasks," said Jay Sloan, an instructor in Tri-County's World Class Training Center and one of the certified instructors for the PRIMEed classes. "We are offering a complete library of 75 online maintenance technician training courses. In addition to the comprehensive web-based content, students are provided study guides and instruction manuals for each of the hands-on performance evaluations," he said.

Following completion of each module and in-plant practice, associates come to the Tri-County campus to participate in evaluation labs where they demonstrate their skills for certified instructors. Tri-County provides the equipment and expert instructors for these evaluations. Johnson Controls recently donated $25,000 to the College to purchase components for the technical training systems that support these evaluation labs. Other industries/individuals who have contributed are Bosch, Square D, Ryobi, U.S. Engine Valve, and Larry Yuda.

"For industry, a major benefit of this program is its flexibility," said Sloan. "For example, a company can designate a specific training track for each individual maintenance technician by choosing from a wide variety of subjects, which include hydraulics, vibration analysis, shaft alignment, AC motors and motor controls, and others. A company (or an individual who wishes to upgrade his or her technical skills) can select the modules in the order that best suits his or her needs. Participants can expect to complete around 25 modules annually," said Sloan. "But the key to upgrading their skills is the requirement to demonstrate in a hands-on lab that they can perform the maintenance tasks."

"By the time they enter the evaluation labs, they have studied the courses in three different media and have prepared themselves through practice and application on the plant floor. They are better maintenance technicians after completing these modules," added Sloan.

Area plants recognize that nationwide there is a big need for enhancing or adding to the skills of their experienced maintenance technicians due to the increased complexity of manufacturing equipment and the aging of their maintenance workforce.

"The average age of the most skilled maintenance technicians is now over 50," said Williams R. Joiner, vice president and general manager of the Industrial Services Group of PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning. "As these skilled workers leave the workforce, the absence of their expertise leaves new workers without the guidance of senior technicians. So industrial companies are challenged with finding more effective methods for rapidly bringing new hires up to speed, as well as cross training existing technicians. We created PRIMEed to meet the needs of industrial customers who want flexible training for their employees and who want their employees to be able to quickly apply that knowledge on the plant floor."

A one-year subscription to PRIMEed enables an associate to take as many courses as he or she wants, explained Sloan. The cost is $995 per person per year. An added incentive to the training is that those companies who have approved Enterprise Zone Act (EZA) applications have the potential to receive a rebate for up to half the cost of training. "That's a real savings," said Sloan. (The EZA allows an approved company to receive a rebate from state withholding taxes to cover up to half the cost of training for eligible employees for five years. At the end of the five-year period, companies are eligible to renew their applications.)

For more information about PRIMEed, contact Jay Sloan at 646-1721 or jsloan1@tctc.edu.
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