As Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Palmdale operations gears up to employ more aircraft structures mechanics, company officials turned to Antelope Valley College (AVC) earlier this year to provide the needed training to prospective employees.
Within a few months, an intensive summer training program was established. Students would attend classes at the Lancaster campus eight hours a day, five days a week for eight weeks.
Jimmy Richter sands a carbon fiber material in AVC composites lab as part of an intensive summer program in aircraft fabrication.
Before the students had even completed their final exams this month, Northrop Grumman extended job offers to 19 students, contingent on their successful completion of the summer program.
“I am thrilled with the success of this partnership,” said Maggie Drake, dean of the college’s Technical Education Division. “I look forward to continuing our work with [Northrop Grumman] in the future.”
For Drake and other community college advocates, the case is another success story pointing to the ability of community colleges to respond quickly to the needs of business and industry.
For Northrop Grumman, the program offered a more economical way to hire qualified employees. “It allows us to avoid costs associated with this training,” said Orville Dothage, manager of advanced production training centers for Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems sector. “By keeping our training costs down, we become more competitive.”
Prior to partnering with AVC, Northrop Grumman would hire structures mechanics and then send them to training. There was always the chance that new hires would separate from employment and the company would lose its investment on training.
That changed this year.
Northrop Grumman determined that Antelope Valley College already offered the appropriate training through its aircraft fabrication certificate program, which consists of four courses. The courses include training in composites fabrication in the college’s state-of-the-art composites lab, which has drawn national attention.
Company officials and representatives from major aerospace companies that serve on the college’s Aircraft Fabrication and Assembly Advisory Committee recommended minor adjustments to AVC’s curriculum to bring it into line with the latest industry standard.
Three of the needed classes were scheduled for summer: “Blueprint Reading,” “Aircraft Structures,” and “Composites Assembly and Repair.” A fourth class to complete the certificate program, “Aerospace Workplace Issues and Ethics,” could be completed by individuals after hiring.
Northrop Grumman officials were able to meet with students enrolled in the classes in an orientation to outline their need for structures mechanics and expectations, according to Maria Clinton, assistant professor of aeronautics.
Students were excited at the prospect of getting jobs with benefits before the end of summer.
“Some of them quit their jobs,” Clinton said of students enrolling in the summer program. “They’ve made huge sacrifices to get into Northrop Grumman. Some are working still, but they’ve had their hours cut back to attend class. One has come from out of state to attend.
“The students were extremely motivated,” said Clinton. “They buckled down. They studied. They attended class.”
Because of the compressed scheduled, students missing a single day could be dropped from the program.
Company officials made subsequent visits during the summer where they observed student performance and had the opportunity to solicit applications. In the end, 19 out of 22 eligible students received offers.
“We are very happy with the quality of the students that are coming out,” Clinton said. “It speaks to the quality of the education that we provide here at this college.”
Northrop Grumman was looking for students with, “Good interviewing skills, good attitudes, and good performance in class,” Dothage said.
Those hired will have the opportunity to work on the B-2, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Unmanned Combat Aerial System Demonstration (UCAS-D) programs, according to Dothage.
“The partnership reconfirms Northrop Grumman’s commitment to be a positive resource in the communities where we work and live. As we grow, we will continue to search for local talent as much as possible since it’s good for Northrop Grumman and good for the Antelope Valley.”
According to Dothage, the company still needs about 150 structures mechanics in Palmdale – a need it hopes to meet with help from AVC.
The college will operate dual day and evening sections of its aircraft fabrication program during the fall semester that begins Aug. 25.
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