Connecting with manufacturing

Pima Community College has been at the center of several recent events aimed at building our relationships to the manufacturing sector of the economy. Here is a look at some of the ways PCC has been involved in connecting with businesses and development groups for the benefit of our students and the community:

• PCC hosted the Acceleration Now! Tour at Downtown Campus on Oct. 3. The event was sponsored by Trane, which makes climate control solutions for homes and businesses. The tour is a 70-city trade show featuring the latest in heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. Originally, Tucson was not a tour destination, but Vice Chancellor of Facilities Bill Ward prevailed on Trane to make a stop here. The result was the tour’s best-attended event so far, as engineers, architects and business leaders joined PCC staff, administrators and faculty in an endeavor whose goals included raising the level of technical education for students and developing the most effective workforce of tomorrow. Hats off to PCC’s team that planned the event for a first-class operation.
• In conjunction with the Acceleration Now! Tour stop, the College hosted a roundtable discussion featuring leaders of the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), which connects businesses and schools to develop and sustain industry-recognized portable certifications in industries ranging from transportation to energy to aviation. [I’m proud to serve on NC3’s Board of Directors.] I moderated a discussion between PCC faculty and administrators and representatives of Trane, manufacturer W.W. Grainger and other companies. NC3 Executive Director Roger Tadajewski noted that 10,000 people retire every day in the U.S., and pointed out that in HVAC, for example, the average age of a technician is 55. “Where are we going to get the talent?” Roger asked, to fill the skills gaps that are widening in many occupations.
• As part of the Southern Arizona Manufacturing Partnership’s Manufacturing Day event in Tucson, Downtown Campus hosted a tour of its Machine Tool Technology facilities and its Veterans Center. Attending the tour was Jennifer McNelly, president of the Manufacturing Institute, the non-profit affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. [I’m also proud to be a founding member of the education council of the Manufacturing Institute.] Veterans were the focus of the day’s activities. In a gathering at the Kino Veterans Center, three PCC student-veterans, ranging in age from their 20s to 68, shared how a PCC technical education has helped them sharpen their skills, find jobs or inspire them to start their own company.

Manufacturing employs 155,000 people in Arizona and as Jennifer said last week, the sector is the lifeblood of towns across the U.S. PCC is committed to providing its students with the skills and opportunities to succeed in in this essential economic sector, and to support a workforce that can drive innovation and prosperity in our community.