Last month, a large group of advanced manufacturing students received multiple Haas CNC certificates. The certificates indicated that the students have demonstrated the skills necessary to operate Haas CNC machines and can put these skills to use in a workplace setting.
"These are highly sought-after skills within the manufacturing community," said Professor/Coordinator of Manufacturing Technology Lee Duerden.
These students also attended a discussion with Vice President of Trident Machine Tools David Schmidt. According to Schmidt, Trident Machine Tools covers over 1,900 Haas customers in New England, who operate over 10,700 machines and over 4,200 of those machines are in Massachusetts.
"I share these numbers because you've started on this career path and I want to assure you that it's the right path. Haas commands about 55% of the market share," Schmidt said to the students.
The students in attendance were able to gain insight into the hiring practices of machine companies, and Schmidt noted that while there are plenty of openings in this field, they don't want to hire just anyone. He told the students hey will be investing time and money into new employees, they want to hire candidates that have made investments in themselves and are willing and able to learn new skills. One way to demonstrate this is by completing a Haas certificate, so students receiving these credentials are already one step ahead.
"Congrats on completing these certificates and dedicating yourself to self-improvement. My customers, those 1,940 Haas customers, need people like you. I rarely enter a shop that's not hiring. Our customers are growing," Schmidt said.
There was also time for creativity with final projects in Professor of Manufacturing Technology Damien Kieran's class. Students build a shoe rack, multiple stools, a sword rack, an architectural decoration for QCC and a fully playable guitar that was tested by Associate Professor of Music Jose Castillo.
For more information contact Lee Duerden at lduerden@qcc.mass.edu.