March 20, 2006
COMMENTARY: Partner up | Community colleges can offer a wide range of resources to local businesses
By Vanessa C. Lapointe
Marketing coordinator, York County Community College, Wells
Today's economy and business climate are constantly changing, providing us with challenges to overcome as we struggle to maintain productivity and efficiency, and strive to maximize growth and sales. Over the last few years, we have seen businesses in the state of Maine rise and fall, succeed and struggle, achieve and maintain. We have seen the effects that today's business climate can have on the local communities and their efforts in promoting economic development.
Add to that changing technology and the necessity of additional resources, combined with employees demanding equality in treatment, education and compensation, and the foundation on which each business aims to achieve success can be much more volatile than would appear to those outside its walls. Today, businesses are looking to other organizations to help them achieve their corporate objectives, to further enhance their productivity and efficiency levels, and to foster internal stability through employee empowerment for one ultimate objective: to achieve competitive advantages within their market, thereby ensuring corporate growth and future stability. One of the organizations that companies are looking to for training and education is their local community college.
York County Community College in Wells sees itself as a key player in the region's economic development efforts. Whether you're an individual looking for educational opportunities, or a corporate entity looking for professional development and training, YCCC exists to provide you with the tools you need to succeed. And it does so through classes, programs and customized training packages so you and your business can not only adjust to the changing economic climate, but also so you can achieve your goals, whatever they might be. One of the ways YCCC is able to offer its resources to its community is by forming partnerships with businesses and associations that address such issues as workforce and professional development, human resource education and employee relations.
Through a grant made possible by the Maine Quality Centers, York County Community College established a partnership last November with Pratt & Whitney, an East Hartford, Conn.-based manufacturer of turbine engines that operates a manufacturing facility in North Berwick. That partnership has allowed YCCC to provide the resources and education necessary to encourage potential Pratt & Whitney employees in North Berwick.
Facing the dilemma of expanding its operations with limited internal resources, Pratt & Whitney expressed its need to YCCC for additional employees with specific skill sets. Together, Pratt & Whitney and YCCC established a curriculum that would train potential candidates as assemblers, bench mechanics, machine operators, parts inspectors and welders by educating them in the areas of quality control, mathematics, blueprint reading, communication and leadership skills. YCCC started the training program in January to help Pratt & Whitney in its quest to increase its workforce by 60 employees, and by its completion in April will have successfully provided 75 individuals with those skills. The training is being conducted in monthly sessions where the students attend classes four days a week and work with different educators responsible for training them in the required skills.
A hidden resource
Using YCCC as a professional educator provides Pratt & Whitney with the opportunity of utilizing training and educational resources that it doesn't have internally. "Using YCCC's experience as an educational and training resource has allowed us to develop a curriculum that addresses our specific needs, so that our potential candidates obtain the very skills we're lacking in our workforce," states Andy Paul, human resources representative at Pratt & Whitney. "It's affordable, customized training that enhances our productivity and corporate advantage while helping the community as a whole because of the development and acquired training that can be utilized elsewhere."
The additional workforce will increase the North Berwick's plant output capabilities, thereby improving the plant's competitive position as well as affording the opportunity for growth to the community in which the plant resides. It will also enable the plant to compete with other plants of similar size and resources, such as those in eastern Europe and China. That in turn will help to diversify the workload and provide a more stable workflow and process for the local plant. By capitalizing on the opportunity provided by YCCC for advancing its internal resources, Pratt & Whitney will be able to achieve their corporate objective of increasing plant productivity and efficiency, bringing additional revenue and opportunity to its plant, its workforce and its community.
York County Community College exists as a catalyst for community development and economic growth, and it is through its involvement as a key partner that it is able to serve its community, local businesses and the state of Maine. Community colleges are a hidden resource ˆ the more they are involved with your development, the more they are equipped to meet and fulfill your needs. So make them aware of your needs as a business, and they can provide you with the tools necessary to fulfill those needs and achieve all of your successes, whether as an individual or a company.
By partnering with organizations such as the Small Business Administration, the Maine Tourism Association and the Maine Quality Centers, York County Community College is fostering economic development by equipping organizations with the resources needed to conquer multiple obstacles. The key to economic and workforce development is the community connections established between the resources. Those connections can provide the tools necessary for success, and it's YCCC's goal to be part of that connection. As a resource, YCCC prides itself on being flexible and able to adjust to the various needs each business may have, as well as having the experience and resources needed to address them individually ˆ whether it's on campus or on location.
Today's economy and business climate are constantly changing, providing us with challenges to overcome as we struggle to maintain productivity and efficiency, and strive to maximize growth and sales. Over the last few years, we have seen businesses in the state of Maine rise and fall, succeed and struggle, achieve and maintain. We have seen the effects that today's business climate can have on the local communities and their efforts in promoting economic development.
Add to that changing technology and the necessity of additional resources, combined with employees demanding equality in treatment, education and compensation, and the foundation on which each business aims to achieve success can be much more volatile than would appear to those outside its walls. Today, businesses are looking to other organizations to help them achieve their corporate objectives, to further enhance their productivity and efficiency levels, and to foster internal stability through employee empowerment for one ultimate objective: to achieve competitive advantages within their market, thereby ensuring corporate growth and future stability. One of the organizations that companies are looking to for training and education is their local community college.
York County Community College in Wells sees itself as a key player in the region's economic development efforts. Whether you're an individual looking for educational opportunities, or a corporate entity looking for professional development and training, YCCC exists to provide you with the tools you need to succeed. And it does so through classes, programs and customized training packages so you and your business can not only adjust to the changing economic climate, but also so you can achieve your goals, whatever they might be. One of the ways YCCC is able to offer its resources to its community is by forming partnerships with businesses and associations that address such issues as workforce and professional development, human resource education and employee relations.
Through a grant made possible by the Maine Quality Centers, York County Community College established a partnership last November with Pratt & Whitney, an East Hartford, Conn.-based manufacturer of turbine engines that operates a manufacturing facility in North Berwick. That partnership has allowed YCCC to provide the resources and education necessary to encourage potential Pratt & Whitney employees in North Berwick.
Facing the dilemma of expanding its operations with limited internal resources, Pratt & Whitney expressed its need to YCCC for additional employees with specific skill sets. Together, Pratt & Whitney and YCCC established a curriculum that would train potential candidates as assemblers, bench mechanics, machine operators, parts inspectors and welders by educating them in the areas of quality control, mathematics, blueprint reading, communication and leadership skills. YCCC started the training program in January to help Pratt & Whitney in its quest to increase its workforce by 60 employees, and by its completion in April will have successfully provided 75 individuals with those skills. The training is being conducted in monthly sessions where the students attend classes four days a week and work with different educators responsible for training them in the required skills.
A hidden resource
Using YCCC as a professional educator provides Pratt & Whitney with the opportunity of utilizing training and educational resources that it doesn't have internally. "Using YCCC's experience as an educational and training resource has allowed us to develop a curriculum that addresses our specific needs, so that our potential candidates obtain the very skills we're lacking in our workforce," states Andy Paul, human resources representative at Pratt & Whitney. "It's affordable, customized training that enhances our productivity and corporate advantage while helping the community as a whole because of the development and acquired training that can be utilized elsewhere."
The additional workforce will increase the North Berwick's plant output capabilities, thereby improving the plant's competitive position as well as affording the opportunity for growth to the community in which the plant resides. It will also enable the plant to compete with other plants of similar size and resources, such as those in eastern Europe and China. That in turn will help to diversify the workload and provide a more stable workflow and process for the local plant. By capitalizing on the opportunity provided by YCCC for advancing its internal resources, Pratt & Whitney will be able to achieve their corporate objective of increasing plant productivity and efficiency, bringing additional revenue and opportunity to its plant, its workforce and its community.
York County Community College exists as a catalyst for community development and economic growth, and it is through its involvement as a key partner that it is able to serve its community, local businesses and the state of Maine. Community colleges are a hidden resource ˆ the more they are involved with your development, the more they are equipped to meet and fulfill your needs. So make them aware of your needs as a business, and they can provide you with the tools necessary to fulfill those needs and achieve all of your successes, whether as an individual or a company.
By partnering with organizations such as the Small Business Administration, the Maine Tourism Association and the Maine Quality Centers, York County Community College is fostering economic development by equipping organizations with the resources needed to conquer multiple obstacles. The key to economic and workforce development is the community connections established between the resources. Those connections can provide the tools necessary for success, and it's YCCC's goal to be part of that connection. As a resource, YCCC prides itself on being flexible and able to adjust to the various needs each business may have, as well as having the experience and resources needed to address them individually ˆ whether it's on campus or on location.
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