Vigor Industrial is partnering with South Seattle Community
College to launch an industrial training center this week at the Harbor Island
shipyard in Seattle.
The Harbor Island Training Center, which opens with a ribbon
cutting ceremony June 7, aims to serve maritime companies in the Puget Sound
region by providing students with the industrial skills needed to get jobs with
regional industrial manufacturers.
“There’s a disconnect between industry and a lot of
talented, hardworking people in this country,” Sue Haley, Vigor’s senior vice
president of human resources, explained. “People want to work and industry
needs a highly skilled workforce. However, Vigor and other manufacturers can’t
find enough workers with the right skills to fill good-paying jobs. This
training center will bridge that disconnect by providing motivated local people
with critical industrial skills.”
Under the partnership, Vigor provides the location,
equipment and a real-world industrial workplace, Haley said, while the college’s
welding and manufacturing programs bring expertise in skills training and
instruction.
The training center includes a computer lab, classroom space
and an industrial training floor with weld-booths and industrial machining
equipment. The shipyard location is expected to allow students to experience
how the facility works and learn from veteran workers.
The college, which will administer the program, says it worked
closely with industry to design a curriculum that teaches marketable welding
and fitting skills for maritime and other manufacturing industries.
“The training program will allow its graduates to obtain the
skills that they need to contribute to this booming industry and will keep the
Seattle maritime industry a key component of our local economy for many years
to come,” South Seattle Community College President Gary Oertli said.
More information about the program is available at
http://www.southseattle.edu/harbor-island-training-center/.
