by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
In order to combat the skills gap that some local employers are facing, Kansas City Kansas Community College has been awarded a Workforce Aid Training Project.
Rich Piper, director of the KCKCC-TEC, said the goal of the Preventative Maintenance Inspection program is to train individuals in a short amount of time to enter the “transportation career pipeline.” After nine-weeks of training, the individual will start at $15 an hour.
“The goal is not to keep these individuals at $15 an hour. The goal is to identify motivated individuals at the entry level position and start training them to be diesel technicians,” he said. “The company will pay for the individual’s training. Once certified as a ‘diesel technician,’ an individual can make a self- sustaining wage. An ASE certified Diesel Technician median wage is $25 an hour.”
Piper said the process of bringing the Workforce Aid Training Program to KCKCC started with Greg Kindle and Jay Matlack, with the Wyandotte County Economic Development Council. He said the duo spoke with local trucking companies to identifying a training need, and then moved forward with finding out what funding was available to implement new training programs.
“WYEDC was very good about including KCKCC from the beginning of the conversations with the local trucking companies,” Piper said. “The project is good for the college because it shares with the local employers and different workforce organizations the college is responsive to their training needs. It also shows the college is truly a training partner. When a training need is identified the college can respond in a timely and effective manner.”
KCKCC instructors teach three courses as part of the training program – OSHA 10, workplace skills (essential employability skills/soft skills) and PMI (Preventive Maintenance Inspection). Butler Transportation, Kansas City Freightliner, Peterbilt and Ryder will be participating.
“When you are able to work closely with four major companies in the transportation/trucking industry, the name of the college becomes a stronger brand with these training partners,” Piper said. “The promotional activities associated with the training have the college’s name side by side with Peterbilt, KC Freightliner, Butler Transportation, Ryder, Kansas Department of Commerce and Workforce Partnership. Being associated with these great companies and organizations is a powerful statement to our community.”
The fall session has already started, but plans are underway to bring the program back in spring 2017. For more information on the Workforce Aid Training Program at KCKCC, contact Piper at 913-288-7808 or by email at [email protected].