International Operating Engineer - Summer 2018

Training & Education
NTF Job Corps Expands Offerings at Turner Center
Georgia training site gives more young people a chance at career path
providing students the experience to
work in an industry that parallels their
training. Students participating in
work-based learning do not displace
local union members.
THE IUOE National Training Fund
(NTF) Job Corps program has expanded
at the Turner Job Corps Center in
Albany, Georgia. The center will now be
home to three NTF trade offerings and
five NTF Job Corps instructors. Along
with the Anaconda Job Corps Center
in Anaconda, Montana, the Turner
site has become the second location
to house five programs, creating the
largest presence the NTF has at any Job
Corps training facility.
Keith Taylor, Heavy Equipment
Mechanics Instructor at Turner, has
been instrumental in advancing the
program to better equip his students to
enter the workforce.
The latest improvements include
a state-of-the-art TUXCO hydraulic
cylinder repair table, electronic
diagnostic equipment, access to online
databases for repair specifications
and manuals, and several workbased-learning
agreements with local
mechanic shops at Flint Equipment
Company and Dougherty County
Department of Public Works. The
student work-based component in
Job Corps is a temporary assignment
Turner Job Corps also houses a
double Heavy Equipment Operations
program, instructed by IUOE Local 474
members Bobby Barwick and Chad
Gonzalez. Working with a class size
of 12 students, the Heavy Equipment
Operations programs utilizes a 30%
classroom and 70% hands-on teaching
approach, along with an updated
equipment fleet, to prepare trainees
to begin a career as an IUOE Local
Union Apprentice or entry-level heavy
equipment operator.
Lastly, Turner Job Corps is home
to the only NTF operated Advanced
Asphalt Paving Program in the country.
The Advanced program, a class of 10
full-time students and instructed by
IUOE Local 474 member Courtney
Turner, requires a more rigorous
training and evaluation platform than
any other heavy equipment-training
program in Job Corps. Students
enrolled in this program are required
to complete performance testing on
a minimum of three different types
of heavy equipment, as well as earn
a Georgia state-accredited Class B
Commercial Drivers’ License prior
to graduation. Over the past two
years, the Advanced Asphalt Paving
program has been able to place nine
graduates into five different IUOE
Local Apprenticeship Programs across
the country.
Job Corps is a voluntary program
that prepares young people ages 16–24
with education and hands-on career
training for entry-level positions that
lead to careers in today’s job market.
If you are interested in pursuing
training with Job Corps, please contact:
Zach Dixon, Coordinator – IUOE NTF
Job Corps at zdixon@iuoe.org
The expansion at Turner has
doubled the Heavy Equipment
Mechanics Program, from a class size
of 8 to 16 students. The expansion is
a direct result of maintaining training
standards, building relationships,
and placing graduates in registered
apprenticeships. In turn, those
Apprentices have found sustainable
careers within the industry, increasing
the overall performance of the Job
Corps programs.
NTF Job Corps continuously
improves and updates equipment,
tools, and curriculum in order to
meet the training needs of the everchanging
construction and mechanic
industries. IUOE Local 474 member
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SUMMER 2018 7