The company has a full-time training coordinator on staff who helps onboard new employees and keep current employees ’ skills up-to-date . Worker incentive programs are in place and management has worked hard to create a culture where employee input is sought and appreciated .
But in the summer of 2021 , Unitech launched a new training initiative — an in-house apprenticeship program . Developed in coordination with the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee ( AJAC ), the program includes exposing participants to a broad cross-section of departments throughout the company along with an in-class learning component over an 18-month period of time . AJAC utilized their training expertise to develop a core curriculum and find appropriate instructors . They then worked with Unitech to incorporate desired composites-specific training and set up the final schedule .
The first cohort of 10 employees is well underway . These participants are doing rotations in engineering , layup , hand trimming , autoclaves , painting , assembly , tooling , quality assurance , and more . They attend class one night per week on topics that include : fundamentals of composites , LEAN processes , industrial manufacturing basics , machine maintenance , and communications . Upon the successful completion of the training , employees will receive a nationally recognized Journeyman-level Industrial Manufacturing Technician Certificate and be eligible for potential wage scale increases and new positions within the company .
The program is offered at no cost to employees . Unitech ’ s costs are split with AJAC , making the investment more affordable to the company .
Pam McClure , Director of Human Resources , says that the program is meeting and exceeding expectations .
“ The employees are truly engaged and enjoying it . They particularly like the rotations throughout the facility because it broadens their knowledge about what we do here .”
McClure says that the driving force behind the effort , beyond teaching employees hard skills about making airplane parts , is to get employees to understand their larger role in building an aircraft .
“ We want employees in the program to learn that the work they do matters ,” explained McClure . “ We want people to take pride in their work .”
Unitech plans to launch its next training cohort of current employees in the second quarter of 2022 , but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to include new hires , many of whom might have limited composites or manufacturing experience .
FEBRUARY | MARCH 2021 ISSUE NO . 25 55