Area 30 to start manufacturing program

The Area 30 Career Center Board of Directors met for its monthly meeting on Tuesday morning, during which it discussed the start of new courses.

Executive Director Lora Busch came before the board to seek approval of three new courses, Advanced Manufacturing I, Advanced Manufacturing II and Precision Machining. The new program will be introduced in August 2014.

"We're looking at building our own program with guidance from the Department of Education. We're looking at putting together a program that puts together the machining, the welding and the manufacturing," Busch said.

The program will be introduced slowly, starting with Advanced Manufacturing I and building to the other two courses.

The manufacturing programs will be designed to go hand-in-hand with the welding program. Its goal is to prepare students for the MSSC certification of the certified production technician, which is what the industry recognizes.

"It's preparing our students to enter the workforce with a certification," Busch said. "It also recognizes your A through F grade and a technical honors diploma certification. That's the end goal of the manufacturing program."

Along with the start of the new program, the board also granted permission to submit a grant application to the Duke Foundation.

The money will go toward the start of the manufacturing program to address such things as equipment and training. It is expected to be around $30,000-$40,000.

Bush also informed the board of two successful events, the Area 30 golf scramble and the Putnam County Area College Fair.

The golf scramble, on Oct. 5 at Windy Hill Country Club, was held to raise funds for the Area 30 scholarship program. Not only did the scramble saw great participation with 17 teams, and it raised $2,900.

"It was a lot of work, but we had huge staff participation," Busch explained. "We were happy with that."

The college fair held at Dixie Chopper included approximately 250 students along with their family members providing a glimpse of what a school has to offer.

"It was a huge success. We're very proud of it," Busch said. "College fairs play an important role in the lives of high school students, especially for those unable to arrange campus tours or visits."

In other business:

* The Area 30 board approved the master contract for 2013-14.

* The board approved the non-certified employees pay schedule increase.

* The hiring of part-time registered nurse, Holly Martellaro, as instructor for nursing clinicals. Position will be paid for by Perkins funds.