Southeast Community College
and 3M are partnering together to educate and train employees for advanced
manufacturing jobs. 3M is a Minnesota-based multinational conglomerate
corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care,
and consumer goods. The MAP (Manufacturing & Academic Partnerships) Project
helps 3M fill jobs and SCC students pursue manufacturing careers.
“SCC will become a ‘hub’ so
we can teach and provide technical support for high schools in the area,” said
Ken Reinsch, program chair for the Electrical & Electromechanical
Technology program. “Along with an eight-week course, schools will engage
students in technical education in the form of computer-controlled learning
stations.”
The ‘hub’ includes
pneumatics, drives and programmable logic controllers and robotics. The MAP
Project is funded through a series of grants from 3M totaling $150,000. That
money is used for trainers, additional equipment needed for the project,
training for two SCC instructors, and two $2,500 scholarships for students in
the Electrical & Electromechanical program.
SCC is one of many 3M MAP
sites throughout the nation, but the only one in Nebraska. The equipment is
already up and running at SCC’s Milford Campus. Many high school teachers have
already been trained on the new equipment.
For more about SCC’s
Electrical & Electromechanical Technology program, log on to our website: www.southeast.edu/electricalelectromechanical/