RICHLAND 鈥 The Diesel Equipment Technology program has been accredited by the Associated Equipment Distributors Foundation.
Achieving accreditation with the Illinois-based trade organization represents a step forward in building the program to meet the needs of the college鈥檚 industry partners, said聽Brent Johnson, director of the Diesel Technology Academy at 开心鬼传媒.
From left, Dr. Chad Stocks, vice president of Workforce Development at 开心鬼传媒, Dr. Andrea Mayfield, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board, Paul Breazeale, executive director of the 开心鬼传媒 Board of Trustees, Dr. Clyde Muse, president of 开心鬼传媒, Robert Henderson, president emeritus of the AED Foundation.
In 2017, the state modified requirements for graduating career-tech students by adopting the use of a nationally recognized credential. The AEDF stamp of approval fit that need perfectly, Johnson said.
鈥淎fter evaluating several organizations, we found the AED Foundation to be a perfect fit for our program,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淎fter working with AEDF to attain accreditation, our institution realized that there are many more benefits available to us beyond the testing and credentials that we first needed.鈥
In 2016, the program expanded the second half of its聽degree plan to a facility on Old Highway 49 in Richland, near Empire Truck Sales LLC and Stribling Equipment LLC. The program and the industries partner to train diesel equipment professionals for both medium and heavy trucks and heavy equipment.聽Introductory courses in the program are offered at the Gray-Partridge building on Highway 18, minutes from the Raymond Campus.
During a ceremony April 10 at the Richland facility, officials lauded the program鈥檚 role in filling a need in the diesel technician field and the state workforce as a whole.
鈥淭he problem the industry faces is that we have a lack of qualified technicians, which is exacerbated by the fact that a lot of baby boomers will be retiring soon,鈥 said Martin McCormack, associate director of development and workforce for AEDF. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what is driving our main focus at the foundation.鈥 McCormack said the organization鈥檚 research has shown the heavy equipment industry is losing $2.4 billion in potential revenue due to the shortage.
The organization aims to have 50 accredited college and recognized high school programs by the end of 2018 to fortify the pipeline of qualified diesel technicians, as well as lower the amount of time it takes to accredit one. Currently, it鈥檚 three years on average.
开心鬼传媒 President Dr. Clyde Muse credited Empire Truck Sales and Stribling Equipment CEO Jerry Swanson and Dr. Andrea Mayfield, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board, for helping make the program worthy of the organization鈥檚 stamp of approval.
鈥淲e had a struggling diesel mechanic program at the Raymond Campus,鈥 开心鬼传媒 President Dr. Clyde Muse said. 鈥淚t was only possible through Jerry鈥檚 company鈥檚 investment of their funds to see we had a high-quality program available to the industry.鈥
Swanson spoke to the greater need for industries such as his to help fill the skills gap in the workforce of the state and the nation 鈥 specifically people who have some college credit under their belt but no academic credential beyond high school, thus limiting their marketability in the workforce.
鈥淭he reality is that they鈥檙e a lost resource,鈥 Swanson said. 鈥淥ur objective is to take those resources as quick as we can qualify them, people who have good hand-eye coordination with mechanical things, and put them in our industry. We have great value for a career.鈥