| FAA Part 147 Approved Curriculum Under Construction | |
AJAC is spearheading the development of a full-time Airframe and Power Plant program for use across the state of Washington. Presidents from community and technical colleges statewide are enthused by the efforts being made to create this intensive college program.
The course design for the FAA Part 147 approved A&P program is being developed cooperatively between five community and technical colleges (South Seattle; Spokane; Everett; and Big Bend Community, and Clover Park Technical) and AJAC, and will be compiled by the curriculum professionals of CORD (Center for Occupational Research and Development).
The Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing will be the "keepers of the curriculum" and make the standardized content available to training institutions across Washington.
"There has not been money to do this before," says Laura Hopkins, Training Director for AJAC in Seattle. "By doing this right-and it needs to be done-it's helping everyone."
While AJAC is an apprentice training organization, according to Hopkins, "Everyone needs this. This is for AJAC, but if we can be team facilitators, then we'll do everything we can to promote the success of this program."
The first curriculum development workshop gets underway this month. |
| Machining Curriculum Development Team in Place |
Machining Program at Bates Techincal College | Educational specialists from across Washington State are in the midst of developing a comprehensive curriculum for aerospace machinist apprenticeship programs. Representatives from industry, community and technical colleges and K-12 schools are working together with AJAC to draft an up-to-the-minute, innovative and relevant machining curriculum.
Mike Fitzpatrick, respected author of current machining and CNC textbooks, and Tim Bacon, a journey-level machinist and machining program instructor are lending their considerable expertise and talent to this development team.
A standardized curriculum composed of lesson plans, outlines, outcomes, worksheets and evaluations ensures that the same quality education and ultimately the same skill set will be available to apprentices across the state regardless of his or her program location. This is essential to apprentices that are unexpectedly laid-off or need to relocate.
"AJAC is making it possible to not only create a course design that promotes the success of the apprentice, but it is also meeting the needs of the industry by collaborating with the people who are at the forefront of putting all this knowledge into practice on the job."--Andrea Anderson, AJAC Program Specialist. |
| Curriculum Review Panel |
 In related news: AJAC is spearheading the creation of a curriulum review panel for the Aerospace Apprenticeship Machining Program.
Expect the panel to be comprised of industry and educational experts from statewide community and technical colleges in addition to high school skills centers.
Subsequent review panels will be formed as curriculum is created for more AJAC Apprenticeship programs. Review panels, or committees, ensure that industry and educational needs are being met and that apprentices are being challenged through the use of innovative, technologically current curriculum. |
| Apprentice Tracking System in the Works |  After an industrious year, the finish line is in sight for the anticipated apprentice tracking system. AJAC is committed to creating a system that ensures participants in the aerospace apprenticeship programs are staying on course with their on-the-job-training (OJT) and getting consistant levels of education statewide. On schedule to be in place by May 2010, the Apprentice Tracking System works on multiple levels to make progress information immediately available to AJAC, employers, apprentices and instructors.
Replacing an archaic system of handwriting logged hours and evaluations, the new interactive system allows an apprentice to login and post their working and classroom hours, while instructors can log attendance. Employers can enter the site to verify said attendance and hours, and receive pertinent program and progress updates. The new system will also prompt employers when a struggling apprentice needs guidence to get back on track.
For employers who offer tuition reimbursement the new system allows them to track apprentice progress in the classroom, thus creating opportunities for program adjustments based on apprentice performance.
Finally, this tracking system is one way to guarantee an apprentice is being fairly compensated and recognized for their progress and skill level. AJAC's system will eventually interface with the Labor and Industry's ARTS database to track apprentice progress toward their journey-level status. |
| Omnibus Grant Update | | Approved by the Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration, the AJAC Omnibus Grant final proposal has been sent to the Philadelphia Earmark Center for processing.
This grant will provide the needed funding for:
- Updates in recruitment strategies to vault the Washington state aerospace workforce and manufacturing sector into the 21st century.
- Creation of long-term career pathways for incumbant workers.
- Development of comprehensive outreach and communication programs to aerospace employers, apprentices and community.
- Fortification of 21st century aerospace workforce by development of an improved data collection and analysis system to track all new information accumulated through the implementation of aerospace apprenticeship programs.
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| "First Mike" Supports Commitment to Aerospace Training |  First Gentleman Mike Gregoire, or First Mike, as he prefers to be called, attended the Career Take Off event at ATS (Aviation Technical Services) on October 30th, 2009. A joint venture between AJAC, ATS and Everett Community College, the Aircraft Mechanics Airframe Apprenticeship program welcomed 17 new apprentices to the fall start.
Gregoire gave a short speech to encourage the new apprentices and thanked and praised ATS for their commitment to aerospace training, and their dedication to placing service members into high quality, living-wage jobs. An altogether diverse group, the apprentices include 7 members of the military, including 4 recently returned from active duty. |
| Eastern Washington News and Events | |
On March 10, Kevin Quinn, AJAC Outreach Specialist for our Spokane office, spent a day with 1400 students from 26 eastern Washington middle and high schools at the National Guard Readiness Center for Greater Spokane Incorporated's Career Exploration Day. Joining 50 other businesses, Kevin introduced students to careers in Aerospace with interactive presentations including a flying monkey named AJAC.
"AJAC was a big hit," said Quinn. "I had 30 kids write down why they thought he could fly and drop their answers in a fishbowl." Some of the impressive responses included: "He wanted to save the bananas," (Future Chef?) and " The potential energy from the stretching of the rubber bands in his arms turns into kinetic energy when he is released." (Future Engineer!) In return for their answers, students had the opportunity to launch AJAC the Monkey themselves.
Quinn has been hard at work successfully reaching out to employers, organizations and potential apprentices in Eastern Washington since coming on board with AJAC in the fall of 2009.
In April, AJAC proudly sponsored the Greater Spokane Incorporated Town Hall Meeting: The State of Manufacturing. |
 Apprentices' Corner |
Two new program starts are slated for Fall 2010 in addition to exisiting programs at Bates Technical College and the ongoing Aircraft Mechanics program at Everett Community College:
Check back with us often for program updates, information on registering as an apprentice, and steps to meet AJAC's minimum qualifications at www.ajactraining.org.
|
 Events Calendar | |
4/1: Dimmit Middle School Career Exploration Day
5/14: Bates Technical College Apprentice Graduation Ceremony
5/25-26: Spokane Schools: Pizza, Pop, and Powertools |
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| AJAC MISSION |  |
Develop, implement and maintain thriving aerospace apprenticeship programs for the purpose of creating a pool of highly skilled aerospace workers and connecting employers and work seekers of Washington State.
Our goals include but are not limited to:
· Articulate with industry certification and college degrees when possible;
· Determine program location and occupations based on industry needs;
· Develop and maintain long term sustainable funding structures;
· Utilize innovative training and technology;
· Create efficient and effective training systems that evolve with the needs of the industry;
· Measure results;
· Increase diversity of the workforce;
· Be an integral part of Washington State's workforce development;
· Internally promote a thriving, respectful, and collaborative work environment.
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