With the demand for skilled industrial maintenance employees continuing to skyrocket, and the cost for training them continuing to grow, Ogeechee Technical College met the issue head on with an innovative training program that has been a game changer for its local manufacturing partners.

The college implemented a groundbreaking approach to training by giving industry full access to the college’s industrial maintenance training capabilities for a set annual fee. Put into effect in January 2020, Ogeechee Technical College’s Full Access Industrial Maintenance Training Program was an instant hit.

“We wanted to find a win-win situation in which our industry partners could receive high level, industrial maintenance training for their employees within a model that worked for them and that worked for us,” said Jan Moore, Vice President for Economic Development at Ogeechee Tech. “By setting an annual fee giving them full access to the training that we could provide, manufacturers were able to set their annual industrial maintenance training budgets with confidence, knowing that their training needs in this area would be met. To say that it has been phenomenally successful would be a gross understatement.”

The annual fee includes access to trainings inside OTC’s state of the art industrial maintenance lab facilities as well as on-site training at its participating manufacturing plants. In its initial year, participation in the program has been limited to six manufacturers including the Statesboro Briggs & Stratton manufacturing facility.

“Ogeechee Tech’s Full Access training program has changed the way we plan and schedule our industrial maintenance training,” said James Suchovsky, Statesboro Plant Manager of Briggs & Stratton. “We are able to secure excellent, comprehensive training for our employees for an annual fixed cost. Industrial maintenance training has become a line item in our budget that we can plan for without cost fluctuation. It is a wonderful concept.”

Not only does the program provide companies with the security of a set budget, it allows them to diversify their training without incurring additional costs. With a full array of training opportunities, companies have the ability to train at their own pace, place employees in apprenticeship programs, take advantage of short courses in electrical, motor controls, PLC(s), and other specialties, as well as pre-employment and post-employment screening and assessment programs.

“The program provided by Ogeechee Tech has been a game changer for Koyo Bearings,” stated Andy Durrence, Plant Manager.  “For an annual fee, we have been able to increase the number of associates that receive training in creative ways.  The quality and variety of the training is outstanding.  Our training program is now at next level.”

The college is currently in the planning stages of increasing its instructional staff to meet the demand for the program. “We wanted to make sure that we delivered the product that we said we would, and that the program would truly be beneficial to our industry partners,” Moore said. “We are at the point where we feel we can grow, both with staff and industry partnerships, and continue to deliver on the promises that we have made.”

The benefits in the fluidity of the training opportunities were no more apparent than when the world came to a standstill due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Many companies had to put business and in-person training on hold for undetermined periods of time, but the Full Access training program was there to meet them with online/virtual training options.

“Right now, it is all about flexibility,” said Kathleen Kosmoski, Director of Industry Training and Continuing Education for the college. “We provide our industry partners with full access to the training that we can provide. Having the resources to transition to virtual/online training has been critical to fulfilling our commitment to our industry partners.”

Moore expects to add additional instructional capacity in the next few months.