College to deliver technical training curriculum online

Curriculum being developed at Western Nevada College will allow maintenance workers in the Fallon, Fernley and Carson City areas to boost their technical skills and possibly their pay without missing work.

WNC won a grant of $101,000 from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to develop a training program for workers in area manufacturing industries. The Applied Industrial Technology classes start Sept. 17 with training and assessment in three of four critical skill areas: mechanical, electrical, instrumentation.

Welding is not yet covered but soon will be, says Bus Scharman, dean of WNC's Fallon campus and director of the DETR grant.

"We can't really well deliver welding online," he says wryly. "We have to bring them into a welding lab to teach them."

About a year ago Scharman met with representatives from Sherwin Williams, which operates a large paint manufacturing facility in Fallon. Company executives spoke of a "pay-for-skill" training program, with pay based on tiered experience. Maintenance workers assessed with higher experience levels earn higher pay.

The problem was getting employees additional training without pulling them off production lines. Also, some companies need small group or even individualized training. The college was pressed to develop curriculum to serve smaller numbers.

The Internet was the answer, Scharman says, because employees can plan their training around their work schedules. However, Web-based technical training only goes so far, and WNC plans to add mobile labs for hands-on instruction.

"Community colleges are used to 15 student in classroom, and that is not what industry needs," Scharman says. "They need it on their time and for small groups of students."

WNC submitted the grant to DETR with Sherwin Williams, Kennemetal, a Fallon company that refines tungsten, and Johns Mansville, a Fernley manufacturer of insulated siding, as grant partners. The classes are open to any company, though.

Instructor Emily Howarth is developing advanced curriculum, and WNC hopes to offer advanced classes for the spring semester.

"By the time the grant is over on June 30, 2008, we hope to deliver a good project to these people," says Scharman, adding that the classes are really more of a "project" than a program, as there will be no official certification through the board of regents.