Ivy Tech gives help to factory workers

Ivy Tech gives help to factory workers

Aleasha Sandley  Journal Review (Crawfordsville)

It’s not just the doctors and lawyers who need a good college education.

Factory workers and those with manufacturing jobs, which make up a large part of MontgomeryCounty’s workforce, are finding they need training after high school to perform their jobs and move up the ladder.

Ivy Tech Community College-Lafayette wants to make it easier for these students to take the necessary classes and earn their associates’ degrees, offering scholarships for new students enrolled in the college’s manufacturing and industrial technology area.

The scholarships will cover two classes in a semester, including tuition, books and supplies, said Andrew Antonio, academic advisor of the School of Technology and Applied Sciences at Ivy Tech’s Lafayette campus.

“Especially as Indiana becomes more and more competitive for more high-tech fields, it’s important that these people are able to educate themselves to keep up with demand,” Antonio said. “It’s becoming mandatory to at least have an associate’s.”

Crawfordsville has several factories, some of them supplying to larger ones in Lafayette, Antonio said. Ivy Tech is trying to help the workers in these factories get where they need to be as far as expertise and training, he said.

One business in Crawfordsville using Ivy Tech’s services is Maintenance Engineering, Inc./Surplus Industrial Equipment, 121 E. Pike St. The small company goes into factories and works on their machines and motors, employee Aaron Benge said.

Benge is working on getting his associate’s degree from Ivy Tech in computer numerical control programming, a condition of his employment with the company.  “I worked at Alcoa for five years and I wasn’t really moving up,” Benge said. “I was at a dead end. So my stepfather-in-law has talked about me working for him, and he said if I will get my degree he would hire me right now.”

Benge has worked at Maintenance Engineering since July and is only about a semester away from receiving his degree. He expects to complete enough course work to get a certificate by the end of this semester.

Students get certificates while working for their associates’ degrees as it can take some students years to finish, with full-time jobs and family obligations, Antonio said.

“It can be a long path,” he said. “While working for your associate’s, you can get certificates to show this is what I’ve done and I’ve completed and I’m also working toward my associate’s.”

Benge, who originally went to Ivy Tech five years ago and finished his general studies courses, knows what a hard road it can be to juggle family, job and school, as many Ivy Tech students do.

Benge is married with four children, runs an eBay store and teaches a teen Bible study on Sunday nights, in addition to his job at Maintenance Engineering and his school work. But going to school wasn’t an option for the busy father.

“I didn’t know anything about what I’m doing,” he said. “It was absolutely necessary. It’s helped out enormously. I will be able to move up once I have my degree.”  Benge pays for school partially with a Pell Grant, but also received one of the scholarships Ivy Tech offers to help pay for books.  New students who live or work in the counties of Montgomery, Tippecanoe, White, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Warren or Benton are eligible for the scholarships. Areas of study in the manufacturing/industrial technology department include computer integrated manufacturing, computer numerical control, facilities maintenance, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, industrial electrician, industrial maintenance, machine tool, quality assurance and welding.

Any factory that uses computers to manufacture parts or uses methods to streamline production or any building that needs maintenance uses people trained in these fields, Antonio said.  The scholarships are limited, and Antonio expects them to be around for at least the next two or three semesters. They are primarily aimed at new students who are going to be using their degree right away or already are in a job where they need it, Antonio said.  The scholarships also could help students who don’t qualify for other financial aid because they are still claimed as dependents of their parents, he said.

The scholarships won’t pay for a full associate’s degree, but will help them get started. Continuing on with the degree program will do them the most good in the end, Antonio said.

“It might help in the short term to take two classes, but in order to do any real good, I think they’re going to have to continue on and pursue that associate’s,” he said.

To apply for the scholarships, contact Antonio at 800-669-4882 Ext. 5460 or 765-269-5460 or aantonio@ivytech.edu, and Antonio will help fill out the application and discuss background and needs.