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Jobs remain plentiful, so area company opens CNC Training Center
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007
Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio might have declined, but if you think the demand for skilled machinists is low, talk to Lee Combs.
The owner of SC Manufacturing Inc. in Akron said he'd hire six CNC operators right now if he could find them.
So when Combs heard that the Akron Machining Institute was closing last summer, he mourned the loss of a steady source of job candidates.
But only briefly.
Laurie Norval, Combs' daughter and a 12-year employee of the defunct AMI, persuaded him to let her operate a school out of one of his plants.
The Akron CNC Training Center, with a state-approved four-month beginner's program, will open with day classes on Nov. 19 at SC Manufacturing's 2642 Gilchrist Road facility. Night classes will be added in January.
Students are trained in CNC (computer numerical control) equipment, including computerized mills and lathes that have replaced manual ones.
With tuition of $4,100, the
cost is about a third of what students paid at AMI. Many students will also qualify for financial assistance, Norval said.
The school will be patterned after and partnered with the Cleveland Industrial Training Center, another school started by a machining business (Borman Enterprises Inc.).
Norval points to the support the new Akron school is getting as evidence that the industry recognizes the need. A pair of Cleveland distributors is donating equipment to the school. Technical Equipment has offered Doosan mill and lathe machines and Jergens Industrial Supply is providing Ingersoll cutting tools.
''Everyone recognizes the need for creating a pool of trained employees for the community,'' said Norval, who added that city and county officials have been supportive as well.
While some high schools and technical colleges offer similar programs, the 37-year-old Akron Machining Institute was a rare breed one of only three proprietary machining schools registered in Ohio.
When it closed on July 31, the National Tooling and Machining Association, which owned the institute, said its challenge was finding enough students to keep it open.
But manufacturers still employ about 20 percent of the region's work force, Combs said, and CNC machinists are highly skilled jobs tied directly to a company's ability to expand.
''There are a lot of skilled people here (in Northeast Ohio) and they are working,'' Combs said. ''But it's a universal theme among manufacturers: If we had more people, we could grow.''
Unlike older manual machines, modern equipment is faster, smarter and in need of bright operators, Combs said.
''What we need are computer-literate people who are problem solvers and can run these $100,000, $200,000, half-million-dollar machines,'' Combs said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for a machinist in Ohio is $16.29 an hour (slightly less than the national median of $16.71). Combs said he has machinists making nearly $60,000 a year.
The new Akron training center hopes to turn out up to 100 certified graduates a year.
''As far as placing students, I don't think there's going to be any problem at all,'' he said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio might have declined, but if you think the demand for skilled machinists is low, talk to Lee Combs.
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