Georgia Northwestern Keeping Machine Tool Ahead Of The Curve

Shirley Learns Advancements In Industrial Field At Educator’s Workshop

“Taking time out to stop for a pose during the latest Machine Tool workshops at the Haas Technical Educator Center at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana are, from left, Randy Emert, Kennesaw State University; Doug Bowman, Vincennes University; Ben Whitener, Athens Technical College; Ed Kishka, Athens Technical College; Phillip Shirley, Georgia Northwestern Technical College Stuart Rolf, Athens Technical College; Jeffrey Friend, Savannah Technical College; and Chris Gibbs, Coastal Pines Technical College.”

 

(Vincennes, Indiana) – When it comes to technological advances, one of the fastest growing fields in the world of Machine Tool Technology. One of the top trainers when it comes to industrial science is Georgia Northwestern Technical College Machine Tool program director, Phillip Shirley.

The Canton, Georgia native has been teaching the ins and outs of Machine Tool Technologies for two decades. He recently spent three days at the Haas Technical Educator Center at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. Shirley, along with a group of other Machine Tool instructors from the Technical College System of Georgia, took the trip earlier this month to the Hoosier State by way of a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant (NSF/ATE).

“Continuing education in this field is key to landing the best jobs in our region when it comes to machine tool careers,” said Shirley. “Knowing the advances as they come along is what helps my students separate themselves from the competition. So, I try to stay ahead of the curve with workshops and opportunities like the one at Haas.”

This specific training was for C.A.M.P.; a CNC Advanced Multi-Axis Programming training workshop. “We learned the latest on MasterCam multi-axis CNC training,” said Shirley. “The business and industry department at Vincennes University taught us the latest advances in four and five-axis CNC milling on Haas Machine Tool equipment.”

Georgia Northwestern Technical College offers courses in Machine Tool Technology throughout the year. The TCSG college offers a diploma in Machine Tool Technology and certificates within the Machine Tool Technology program. Classes are on the schedule for each fall, spring, and summer semester at GNTC.

Among the educational awards GNTC’s Shirley has earned in his career are a Diploma in Machine Tool Technology (Chattahoochee Technical College, GA), an Associate of Applied Technology Degree in Machine Tool (Dalton State College, GA), and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management (Bryan College, TN).

Partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program under Award No. 1501872. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Approximately 14,500 people benefit from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs, making it the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in Georgia. Georgia Northwestern offers classes on-campus or online throughout the year. GNTC serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties.

GNTC Law Enforcement Academy Graduation

Jim Pledger (right), director of GNTC’s Law Enforcement Academy, presents Joshua P. Cole (left) with the “Top Gun” award for excellence in marksmanship.

(Calhoun, GA) – On Thursday, July 9, friends and family gathered at the Conference Center located at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Gordon County Campus to honor the students graduating from the Law Enforcement Academy.

During the ceremony, 11 law enforcement officers graduated from the program. Advisory board members, chiefs, sheriffs, and fellow law enforcement officers from the Northwest Georgia region and beyond also were in attendance at the ceremony.

The proceedings began with Jim Pledger, director of the Law enforcement Academy at GNTC, welcoming guests and praising students for their achievement.

“So many people in the audience have been a part of this program,” said Pledger. “There are a lot of people here that come and help us as instructors and there are a lot of here in uniform that were sitting on this stage getting ready to graduate a few years ago.”

The keynote speaker at the ceremony was Lt. Jeff W. Vanaman of the Brookhaven Police Department. Vanaman served as a coordinator for GNTC’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy from June 2010 to June 2013.

Vanaman began his law enforcement career with the College Park Police Department where he served as a field training officer, member of the Honor Guard, task force officer assigned to the DEA Atlanta Airport Group, general instructor, firearms instructor, range master, sniper team leader, assistant SWAT team commander, and patrol division sergeant.

He has earned intermediate and advanced law enforcement certifications as well as other certifications as a general instructor, firearms instructor, and emergency driving instructor.

Vanaman reminded the graduates to never forget that their main priority is public service.

“The root and the core of this job is serving people,” said Vanaman. “What you do matters and you may never know what impact you have on people.”

Jordan B. DeJesus was the student speaker for the ceremony. Dejesus said that when he and the other recruits started it seemed overwhelming at first, but in the end everything made sense and came together.

“It’s a learning experience the whole way through,” said DeJesus. “I can’t think of a single day that we didn’t take something with us when we went home.”

Joshua P. Cole was presented with the “Top Gun” award for excellence in marksmanship and Jake D. Holley received the Academic (Honor Graduate) Award for having the highest grade point average.

Graduates of GNTC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Class #201501 are:

Joshua P. Cole, Jordan B. DeJesus, Marissa E. Elrod, Jake D. Holley, Christopher B. Johnson, Martin A. Meza, William J. Pledger, Hunter M. J. Quarles, Jose M. Meza Sandoval, Christopher K. Wilkins, and Jason H. Winkles.

Since 1962, Georgia Northwestern Technical College has been instrumental in providing quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. The mission of Georgia Northwestern Technical College is to provide accessible, high quality technical education and workforce development opportunities.  Serving the nine counties of Catoosa; Chattooga; Dade; Floyd; Gordon; Murray; Polk; Walker; and Whitfield, GNTC has five convenient campus locations in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. With programs of study in business, health, industrial, and public service available, students have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree, diploma, or a certificate from GNTC.  This past year, 14,562 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 8,249 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in the state of Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 6,313 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.

Jobs: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

Fun Fact of the Day: GNTC is training you for tomorrow’s jobs TODAY! However, here is a fun list of 35 jobs that no longer exist. From Phrenologists to Pinsetters, learn the ins and outs of these out-dated jobs.

First GeorgiaBEST certificates presented to GNTC Adult Education students

Left to right, Pete McDonald, president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC); Cassie Rutledge of Summerville; Amber Danforth of Rome; Connie Smith, vice president of Adult Education at GNTC; and Commissioner Mark Butler

SUMMERVILLE– State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler today presented certificates to the first students to complete the GeorgiaBEST program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Adult Education program. GeorgiaBEST (Businesss Ethics Student Training) is the Georgia Department of Labor’s (GDOL) workplace soft skills initiative.

The ceremony was held at the Chattooga County Adult Education Center in Summerville.

“I’m pleased to present these certificates to Amber Danford and Cassie Rutledge, who are the first to complete GeorgiaBEST through a program affiliated with a state technical college,” said Butler. “What they’ve achieved will definitely improve their opportunities for success in life. And, with our continuing affiliation with Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Adult Education program, many more students from this region will also get the opportunity to use GeorgiaBEST to improve their outlooks for success.”

Butler launched GeorgiaBEST in 2012 after talking with employers throughout the state who said that the lack of soft skills was one of the major problems they faced when recruiting and keeping good employees. A 2012 article in Forbes Magazine refers to research by Leadership IQ, a research and leadership training company, which shows when first-time hires fail, 89 percent of the time it’s because of attitudinal reasons.

“We are so proud of these two students who were awarded GeorgiaBEST certificates,” said Connie Smith, vice president of Adult Education at GNTC. “They have demonstrated that they have the soft skills employers require to not only get a job, but to keep a job. With the increased emphasis on college and career readiness, our students now understand that they need more than just the GED diploma.”

Both students said the Oral and Written Business Communication Skills was a favorite among the GeorgiaBEST modules. “I didn’t give up and I didn’t give in,” declared Rutledge, of Summerville. “I gave it all I’ve got for GeorgiaBEST. One of the skills I learned was the ‘mock interview,’ which will help me be more confident when I go on interviews.”

Danford, of Rome, said, “I feel GeorgiaBEST has helped prepare me for a future job. It has given me skills, such as how to excel in a job interview, which will help me in my job search. I am very proud to have completed the GeorgiaBEST program.”

After its 2012 launch, GeorgiaBEST spread quickly and is now taught in more than 200 schools throughout the state. The GNTC Adult Education program became the first to implement it at the technical college level in September.

“We have integrated the GeorgiaBEST program at all of the Adult Education centers in our nine-county service delivery area,” Smith said. “More than 1,000 students have been exposed to this training since last fall and more students will earn their certificates in the weeks ahead. We are proud of this collaboration with the GDOL and our efforts to prepare students for college or the workplace.”

Students who participate in the program are evaluated by their teachers on their soft skills and, upon completion of the program, are awarded GeorgiaBEST certificates. The certification serves as validation to employers that students have successfully displayed strong work habits that will foster success in higher education and in the workplace.

Students earning the certificate must study and be assessed on 10 soft skill standards as set by the GDOL and participate in at least one of the required projects. Those soft skills, put together by the GDOL with input from business and industry, include discipline and character, attendance and punctuality, work habits, teamwork, time management, attitude, communications skills, responsibility, and organization.

Schools or others who may want more information about GeorgiaBEST, should contact Rebecca McGee, state program manager for GeorgiaBEST, at Rebecca.McGee@gdol.ga.gov or (404) 232-7300.

News media needing additional information should call the GDOL Office of Communications at (404) 232-3685, or Amber Jordan, GNTC’s director of marketing and public relations at (706) 295-6768 or ajordan@gntc.edu.

Keeping The Edge, Next Generation Is Coming

The next generation is right behind you, Cats Country!

See you in class this week… and GO CATS!

Election Day Facts and Spring Semester

Fun Fact of the Day on this Election Day!

November was selected in America as the month to hold major elections because harvest seasons were complete by then.
The first Tuesday of November was selected as Election Day because initially many people had to travel the day before to reach the polling place in time. Since most people did not travel on Sunday for religious reasons, they did not want elections to be on a Monday.

Bobcat Fact of the Day: Application and Testing Deadline for spring semester is November 25. (gntc.edu)

GNTC’s Machine Tool Technology Program

Sees Increase in Veteran Enrollment

 

 

Brian Pierce (left) and Brooks Cain (right) work on a lathe machine in the shop for GNTC’s Machine tool Technology program. Pierce and Cain both served as specialist in the U.S. Army and knew each other before they entered the program.

 

 

Military experience provides individuals with in-depth technical experience and an aptitude for detail and consequently the Machine Tool Technology program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) is seeing more veterans enroll into the program.

 

According to Bart Jenkins, director of the Machine Tool Technology program at GNTC, one-fourth of the students in the program on the Floyd County Campus are military veterans.

 

“I’m going to say the quality of students has increased because of the addition of the veterans here,” said Jenkins.

 

Veterans gain valuable technical experience when they serve in the military and a large amount of that experience translates into the problem-solving skills and precision that is taught in the Machine Tool Technology program at GNTC.

 

“It’s very technical and the attention to detail and other skills you learn in the military correlates well to machine tool,” said Matthew Aliberti, a former staff sergeant that went on tours in Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. “You have to constantly check measurements, plus it’s very broad, so there’s a lot of applications you can use it in.”

 

Aliberti says that the stability of the profession was also a big reason he chose to enter the program.

 

“The job prospects are high, there’s a lot of guys right now that are getting ready to retire so there are a lot of job openings,” said Aliberti. “I see companies come in here at least two or three times a semester looking to hire guys out of the school because GNTC has a good reputation, so if you want a job it is definitely a good job with good pay.”

 

Brooks Cain, a former specialist that did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, says that he would recommend the program to anyone who enjoys Math and using their hands all day.

 

“I was a mechanic in the Army and this kind of coincides with it, said Cain. “I’m fascinated with turning a piece of material into a useable part.”

 

To Brian Pierce, a former specialist in the Army who did three tours in Iraq, this also meant connecting with other veterans while receiving hands-on experience with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and lathe machines.

 

“I actually already knew Brooks, me and him kind of grew up together, it was pretty cool to see a familiar face both being in the military and just knowing that there are a lot of military people here,” said Pierce. “You can click better, you can adapt better to the environment here, and it’s just easier so I think I picked the right subject to study.”

 

Jenkins says that military training in general, in addition to the technical experience, makes veterans very good students.

 

“They are always on time and their work ethic is great,” said Jenkins. “I wish I had a whole shop full of them.”

 

Georgia Northwestern Technical College serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. Approximately 16,000 people benefit from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs, making it the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in Georgia.

Basic Law Enforcement Academy – Your Career Begins Here!