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By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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WEST MICHIGAN — As factories begin to come online to create products to serve the green economy, the area’s community colleges and institutions of higher education are working to ensure they are ready to provide the training for workers these companies will need.

From wind power to advanced battery technology, community colleges are reworking programs to meet the needs of these new manufacturing techniques.

Jeff Stipes, chairman of manufacturing technology at Muskegon Community College, is working with advanced battery manufacturer fortu PowerCell Inc. to build a curriculum to meet the company’s need for employees trained in chemistry, quality control, and manufacturing techniques unique to the battery industry. While fortu has yet to break ground on its facility in Muskegon, Stipes and company officials are working to iron out the details for what a battery manufacturing program will look like at MCC.

For MCC, it is not so much an overhaul of its programs, but rather an assembly of disparate parts of its course offerings into a cohesive unit.

“We’ve probably had two-thirds to three-quarters. Of the course work that is in place, we are identifying that which they need and getting access to the other things we don’t,” Stipes said. “It is not a reinvention of the wheel. The nice thing about it is that we’re about a year down the pike. We are actually able to work with them to develop exactly what they need, and have the time to get it right.”

For Stipes, it is pulling together pieces from across campus — manufacturing and quality control courses from his manufacturing technology department, while also incorporating courses from the chemistry department. The college has developed programs for small-scale residential and commercial wind turbine installation, as well as a biofuel program to train students to work in the biodiesel and bio-digester energy industries.

Julie Parks, director of workforce training at Grand Rapids Community College, told MiBiz that the pace of change is challenging, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“Companies that are coming to us have the same problems as they had before. They want problem solvers, but they want that integrated with someone with knowledge of lean and quality systems,” Parks said. “They want someone who will work and is willing to tell a supervisor or team leader that we can do this better. It’s a different way to constantly look at things. Employers expect their employees to have a basic understanding of sustainability and how it connects to their business. They are looking for innovation to happen at the front line.”

As part of that effort, Parks said that partnerships are key to ensuring programs remain relevant. In some cases, as with the composite manufacturing program with Energetx Composites in Holland, it requires leaning on companies to provide the investment in a classroom onsite to help train students.

“Energetx lets me use their facility for a classroom. We don’t have the funds to build our own lab — plus it would be quickly outdated if we did,” Parks explained. “It’s more important than ever to have collaborations with GVSU, Hope, Aquinas, Calvin, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Montcalm Community College to forecast what is coming. We are working with economic developers to see what skills people are looking for.”

James DeHaven, VP of economic and business development at KVCC, said that while investment in wind turbines slowed in the recession, new projects are beginning to get under way. Interest in the college’s Wind Technician Academy remains strong.

“The industry is looking for a well-trained workforce for the maintenance and repair of units, DeHaven said. “What we do know is that as projects continue to launch and grow, there is a need for our technicians, so we know there will be a market for them.”