Grant will provide scholarships for machine operator classes at WDC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2014
CONTACT
Robert White
Media Relations/Communications Coordinator
(513) 569-4775 (office)
(859) 468-6640 (cell)
robert.white@cincinnatistate.edu
Grant will provide scholarships for machine operator classes at WDC
Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center (WDC) has received a grant from the Gene Haas
Foundation to fund scholarships for two students in its Machine Operator training programs.
Each scholarship is worth $3,400, which is the cost of a Machine Operator program (six courses) offered
through the WDC.
The Gene Haas Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Haas Automation Inc., a leading worldwide
manufacturer of Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) and other metalworking machinery.
The Workforce Development Center, working with regional manufacturers, has been offering Machine
Operators Training courses since autumn of 2013. A new sequence of courses is now taking shape:
- Machine Operator I: Starting May 12, 2015 at the WDC Evendale campus.
- Machine Operator II: Starting Jan. 20, 2015 at the WDC Evendale campus.
The Haas scholarships will be based on need and merit. Those interested in learning more about them,
and the application process, should contact WDC business manager James Bax at (513) 569-4945.
The WDC’s Machine Operator program is designed to teach the skills required to operate metalworking
lathes, mills and grinders in a high-tech manufacturing environment. It also prepares students to earn a
National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) certificate. The courses are also being offered as an
apprenticeship program under a public/private partnership with Workforce Investment Boards in Hamilton
and Butler counties, Partners for a Competitive Workforce and five manufacturers in Greater Cincinnati.
The Machine Operators Training courses at Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center are rooted
in recommendations from a Technical Advisory Committee that included representatives of a dozen
leading manufacturers in the region. Both the Machine Operator I and II courses combine online
instruction and hands-on classroom and machine tool lab work to provide instruction in such areas as
safety, measurement, plan reading, milling and turning, as well as CNC, Statistical Process Control (SPC)
and lean quality processes.
Those who take the WDC classes are not required to formally enroll as students at Cincinnati State, but
individuals who successfully complete the courses may earn up to 10 STEM credits which can be applied
toward an associate degree at Cincinnati State or presented for transfer at any public educational
institution in Ohio.
Cincinnati State also offers academic programs and degrees involving CNC operations, welding and
other aspects of advanced manufacturing through its Center for Innovative Technology. The college
recently received a $2.75 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to expand its training capacity for
manufacturing careers. It is using grant funds to establish a Greater Cincinnati Manufacturing Careers
Accelerator that will focus on producing graduates trained in welding and CNC operations. The federal
grant is enabling Cincinnati State to acquire virtual welding systems and expand its complement of
conventional welding supplies, and also broaden its outreach to students interested in pursuing careers in
manufacturing-related fields.
ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE
Cincinnati State (www.cincinnatistate.edu) enrolls more than 10,500 students and offers more than 130
associate degree and certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering
technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. Cincinnati State has one of the
most comprehensive co-op programs among two-year colleges in the U.S.
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