[G]lobalFoundries, the semiconductor manufacturer in Essex Junction, is the latest Vermont company to start a training program aimed at creating the kind of skilled employees that it can’t find on the open market.
The company announced an apprenticeship program on Friday that will provide high school graduates with internal training and classes through Vermont Technical College. After four years of successful participation while working for $18 to $20 an hour, the worker will end up with a certificate and 34 college credits. Each class can take up to 30 people.
“It enables access for high school students who may not be thinking about going to college for many different reasons,” said Dale Miller, the senior executive for GlobalFoundries, which has about 2,600 Vermont workers. “The fact that we are paying for 34 credits over four years, and they get to work at the same time and save some money, allows them to consider this type of field.”
Many Vermont executives say a lack of qualified workers is the No. 1 problem they face right now. Several companies have turned to internal training programs as way to bring on the people they can, and then help them gain the skills necessary for the job. The Vermont Training Program offers grants for up to 50 percent of employers’ training costs. Miller said GlobalFoundries has used the training program in the past, but isn’t using any state money for the program announced Friday.
VTC offers similar customized training programs for other companies, including GE Aviation in Rutland and GW Plastics, for which it trains both existing workers and new hires, and for hospitals and nursing homes, said Patricia Moulton, president of Vermont Technical College.
“More and more employers are realizing they have to put skin in the game to nurture and create a talent pipeline,” Moulton said. “I don’t have hard data on that, but based on our phone ringing, we’re seeing more and more employers asking, ‘What more can you do to help us upgrade the skills of our existing workforce or train more hires?’”
Participants in the GlobalFoundries program will be instructed in areas such as vacuum systems, basic maintenance, radio frequency, and other equipment used in the production of semiconductor wafers, Miller said.
Applicants will be interviewed and screened for their math abilities.
“We would be looking for people who have a natural technical aptitude, someone who might like to work on cars and is good with mechanics, good with software and interactions with software and equipment, and model-builders,” Miller said. GlobalFoundries has people applying externally and also people interested internally for the VTC classes, which start in the fall. It will take four years for participants to graduate from the program with their certificate and 34 college credits. The credits equal about half of an associate degree program at VTC.
“They can learn new skills, earn better wages because they have certifications, and accumulate college credits in a very affordable way,” Moulton said. “They can work while they are learning. It’s an ideal win with the apprenticeship model.”
