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Manufacture your future! Prepare for high-paying careers in the clean, exciting field of high-tech manufacturing. The
image of noisy assembly lines and limited employee advancement is changing to a high-tech, high-skill, high-wage environment
that needs a pipeline of educated employees in order to grow. Manufacturing jobs pay more than 20 percent higher wages and
benefits than those in the construction, services, and retail sectors. However, an aging workforce, a thinning pool of young
talent, and limited training opportunities all contribute to the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers in Connecticut. Employment
opportunities await students who are educated in engineering and manufacturing technology fields.
You can start on your path to a rewarding career in manufacturing through the SMART program.
In the SMART programs, students are prepared for careers in industries such as
precision manufacturing and aerospace components. You will gain
education and skills to help you succeed in academic programs and to
prepare you for careers and advancement in manufacturing.
Three certificate-granting programs *
- The non-credit Pre-Manufacturing Certificate Programs are designed to prepare students for college-level manufacturing programs
- The Level One Manufacturing Certificate Program will teach core competencies and provide students with transferable skills and portable credentials over a 6-12 month period
- A Level Two Precision in Manufacturing Certificate Program offers training in areas such as precision machining and computer numerically controlled (CNC) technologies, welding technologies, and electronic control technology, and can be completed in less than one year.
* This dynamic program is adding new opportunities every semester.
Scholarships, possible internships, and expert mentors
will support student success, persistence, and advancement through the levels of the program. The mentors will work closely with industry partners involved in the initiative to provide on-the-job oversight and continuing education to reinforce classroom lessons for students involved in the program.
KeyTrain® system helps students succeed
The KeyTrain® system is offered to Connecticut Community College students, and provides an easy-to-use system that measures, communicates and improves common skills required for success in education and the workplace. KeyTrain® includes targeted, self-paced instruction, pre- and post-assessments, and a complete learning management system using text, graphics, animation and audio to accommodate different learning styles.
These components can help you learn, practice and demonstrate the skills you need to succeed in education and in the career you desire.
The KeyTrain® system includes comprehensive instruction on each of following nine skills sets and offers hundreds of hours of instruction.
Reading for Information; Applied Mathematics; Business Writing; Applied Technology; Teamwork;
Beginning Skills; Listening; Observation; and Writing.
Students can access KeyTrain® on- or off-campus, on any computer with an Internet connection.
KeyTrain® is the complete interactive training system for the WorkKeys® basic workplace skills. KeyTrain provides a
comprehensive learning system for common skills required by all jobs, based on ACT's WorkKeys® assessment system.
Key Partners
The SMART proposal was supported by significant leveraged commitments from key partners valued at over $3 million. These key partners
include: the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT); Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA); the Connecticut Community
College System’s College of Technology, a nationally-recognized
curriculum pathway in engineering and technology, and its Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing; the Governor’s Office for Workforce
Competitiveness; the CT Workforce Development Council, a consortium of the state’s five regional workforce investment boards; the CT
Distance Learning Consortium; CT Department of Labor; CT Department of Economic and Community Development; CT Economic Resource Center;
CT Department of Higher Education; Charter Oak State College; CT State Department of Education (SDE); CT Technical High School System;
Manufacturing Alliance Service Corporation (MASC); CT Technology Council (CTC); the CT Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF); and
nearly two dozen private manufacturing companies and industry organizations.
College of Technology
The Connnecticut Community Colleges are well known throughout the state and the nation for their innovative programs that educate students
for careers in manufacturing and engineering technology as a result of their National Science Foundation grant-funded College of Technology
and its Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing.
The curricula and pathway programs of the Connecticut Community Colleges’ College of Technology can take you to the next level of education
following completion of one of the three entry-level credentials offered through the SMART program.
The College of Technology pathway combines the general studies courses of all 12 Connecticut Community Colleges with specialized courses in
engineering and technology, many of them offered through distance learning. This pathway gives students credits toward engineering and technology
degrees and transfer programs at Connecticut public colleges and universities including the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State
University.
By enrolling in one of the many College of Technology engineering and technology associate degree or certificate programs, you can pursue an
affordable education and a career that will give you the financial and personal rewards you may be looking for.
Among the associate degree programs and options are Electrical Utility Technology; Laser and Fiber Optics; and Cabling—Integrator Technician
and Networking. Upon completion of an associate degree, students are prepared for transfer and careers in a variety of high-tech industries.
Contacts
Telephone: 860.885.2601
E-mail: TR-Smart@trcc.commnet.edu
Manufacturing Career Advisors
Grant funds also support Manufacturing Career Advisors, who can answer questions
and provide guidance about career pathways.
Western CT, including the Waterbury and Bridgeport areas and northwest corner:
Contact: Kevin Canady, Northwest Workforce Investment Board of the CT
Department of Labor, 860.496.3302 or kevin.canady@nrwib.org
Eastern CT, including the New London, New Haven and Middletown areas:
Contact: Elizabeth Zajac, Eastern Workforce Investment Board of the CT Department
of Labor, 203.867.4030 x284 or ezajac@yahoo.com
Central CT, including Greater Hartford, Enfield and Farmington areas:
Contact: Matt Ruminski, Capital Workforce Partners of the CT Department of
Labor, 860.899.3446 or mruminski@capitalworkforce.org
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