Focus on Training: Bearing maintenance training certified for CEUs

The Timken Bearing Maintenance Training curriculum has been certified by a college for continuing education units (CEUs). CEUs are commonly used in many industries to provide ongoing professional enrichment based on approved curriculum by an educational institution.

The Timken Company’s training program, taught by a team of service engineers, is designed to educate customers on the practical issues of bearing handling, installation, lubrication and maintenance. The program serves a number of industrial markets, including rolling mills, aerospace, mining, power generation and the heavy-duty truck market.

In its assessment of the training program, Stark State College of Technology in Canton, Ohio, reviewed the instructors, the classroom curriculum, and the hands-on presentations before granting certification. As a result, the Timken Bearing Maintenance Training program offers two options: a four-hour class approved for 0.25 CEUs, and a three-day advanced training session approved for 1.5 CEUs.

“Timken customers now have access to world-leading bearing training that also offers them continuing education credit,” says Jeff S. Calvin, section manager for Timken’s service engineering group.

“Timken has done a very thorough job in meeting our institution’s high set of standards for certification,” says Dr. Peter K. Kropp, P.E., dean, information technology and engineering technology at Stark State. “This certification allows the college and Timken to enter into a relationship where the highest quality of continuing education are its goals.”

In addition to its bearing training program, Timken offers a full range of training programs, including rolling mill training, a travelling distributor training program, and the Learn and Lead technical training program, which focuses on anti-friction bearing principles and design elements for original equipment manufacturers.

To learn more, visit the website at www.timken.com/training.

TRAINING COURSES FOR INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION BEING ESTABLISHED

The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) Educational & Scholastic Foundation is attempting to address the industrial distribution channel’s need for entry-level employees with industry-specific skills and knowledge. One step in its program is the introduction of an industrial distribution curriculum at community colleges throughout the United States and Canada.

Among its efforts, the foundation is working to recruit entry-level employees to the industrial distribution channel; develop programs to teach business, technical and distribution basics; and create affordable resources for current employee development.

Highlights of the foundation’s accomplishments in 2003 include:

Enrolling the first students in Industrial Distribution certificates at pilot programs in Detroit and Omaha.

Expanding support of the initiative to 10 distribution associations to ensure successful placement of all program graduates.

Hiring a project manager with proven success at launching curriculum and securing private and government grants.

The underpinning of the curriculum is a major analysis of the essential qualities of successful inside and outside distributor sales personnel. Based on extensive research with distributor salespeople, this assessment identifies the critical competencies for success and lays out a logical learning progression of needed classwork and on-the-job training.

To enhance the attractiveness of the curriculum to its educational partners, and based on the experience of others who have launched similar programs, the foundation’s goal is to use each college’s existing catalogue to the extent possible. Rather than providing a set curriculum with detailed course outlines and materials, the foundation has defined the desired competencies and will work with each school to determine which available courses will best deliver the needed education.

Students began enrolling at Henry Ford Community College in Detroit in August 2003; more will enrol at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha starting in December. At both locations, the curriculum draws from existing business and technical classes, and includes a new Introduction to Distribution course developed with input from local distributors.

Building support across the industrial distribution channel is critical to demonstrate to potential school partners that sufficient employers will sustain these programs. Given the tremendous overlap in job activities across the full spectrum of industrial distribution, the foundation has aligned with other organizations that serve this industry to make the curriculum as widely applicable as possible.

Together with the PTDA, the foundation has partnered with the Association for High Technology Distribution (AHTD, Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA), Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GWDA), Industrial Distribution Association (IDA), International Association of Plastics Distributors (IAPD), International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) and the Safety Equipment Distributors Association (SADA).

In May 2003, the foundation hired a project manager, Joan Cook, to research and apply for grants, identify target locations, market the program to potential schools, build support with local distributors and manufacturers, and oversee implementation of the curriculum at each school. Cook has 27 years experience in workforce development for manufacturing, with an emphasis on competency-based, employer-driven programs. She had launched a similar, successful program for the precision metalforming industry.

The foundation is committed to promoting the finalized curriculum to community colleges and vocational-technical schools throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a target of four new pilot sites in the United States and two in Canada in 2004.

For more information on the foundation’s initiatives, contact PTDA executive director Stephanie Kaplan (312-876-9461; sakaplan@ptda.org) or model curriculum project manager Joan Cook (330-825-5836; jcook@ptda.org).

For more information on the foundation, visit http://www.ptda.org/about/edfoundation.shtml.

YVES LANDRY FOUNDATION PRESENTS AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE TO HONOUR SKILLS TRAINING INITIATIVES

The Canadian Tooling & Machining Association’s Moulding Youth For Industry Program was recognized as the Program of the Year at the fourth annual Stars Gala in Toronto on Nov. 13, 2003.

As well, ATS Automation Tooling Systems was named Company of the Year, and A. Charles Baillie of TD Bank Financial Group was honoured as Person of the Year.

The awards recognize Canadian individuals and businesses that best exemplify the vision of the late Yves Landry, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Chrysler Canada from 1990 to 1998. His goals included forging a link between business, education and government, and promoting technological education and skills training in order to address the industry shortages with apprenticeships and skilled labour.

“The awards gala provides the platform to honour those working in alignment to the foundation’s mission, and to promote awareness to reduce the current and future skills shortages facing Canadian industry,” said John Mavrak, president of the Yves Landry Foundation.

The awards presented were as follows:

Program of the Year: Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA), Cambridge, Ont., for its Moulding Youth for Industry program. The program is currently being conducted successfully in the Waterloo Region and Windsor-Essex County in Ontario.

The initiative addresses the skills shortage in the precision metal-cutting industries and youth employment. The 50-week pre-apprenticeship training program provides 20 weeks of classroom/machine shop instruction, followed by 30 weeks of industrial work experience, after which successful students can be registered as apprentices
in a related field.

To date, the Moulding Youth For Industry program has successfully graduated over 200 entry-level apprentices into the tool, die and mould industry.

Company of the Year: ATS Automation Tooling Systems, Inc., Cambridge, Ont. ATS made a strong commitment to developing leading-edge technology, creating a stimulating work environment for employees, creating excellent value in the products provided to its customers, rewarding hard work and dedication, developing strong customer relationships by servicing their needs, showing a willingness to take on major challenges, and developing a lean management structure.

ATS has developed a highly skilled workforce, necessary for success in a knowledge-based, customer service industry. ATS started its apprenticeship training program in 1981 and continually hires and trains apprentices. Since 1998 ATS has trained 142 apprentices in its facilities. ATS is a member of the CTMA.

Person of the Year: A. Charles Baillie, past chairman and chief executive officer, TD Bank Financial Group. In the fall of 2002, Baillie convened the TD Forum on the Canadian Standard of Living that brought together more than 40 leaders in business, academia, government, labour and the not-for-profit sector to develop practical steps to help Canada raise its standard of living above that of the United States.

In addition to these awards, the Yves Landry Foundation also presented nine academic awards at high school, college and university levels to recipients who have demonstrated technological innovation and excellence.

A complete list of the awards and past recipients can be obtained from the Yves Landry Foundation at www.ylandryfund.org.