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Students in several programs at TCAT Elizabethton are gaining hands-on experience in the setup of equipment for the new Machine Tool training program that begins in January 2017. The activity is now underway in the machine tool shop located in the Skills Building at TCAT’s Main Campus, 426 Highway 91 north, across from the Elizabethton Municipal Airport.
Students are working under the supervision of their program instructor. Millwright students are using a laser to place and level heavy machines. Electricity students are providing power to each machine. Pipefitting and plumbing students are installing conduits. Computer students are bringing computer-operated machines to life. HVAC students are installing heating and air conditioning systems and duct work.
Scott LaForest of Marble, N.C., who has extensive industry and military experience in machine tool technology, was recently employed by TCAT Elizabethton as the new machine tool instructor. Prior to joining TCAT, he was a toolmaker with Moog Components Group, Murphy, N.C., and served in various training roles with industries in North Carolina and the U.S. Army, where he once was a drill sergeant.
The Machine Tool program at TCAT Elizabethton will teach a standard curriculum adopted by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The curriculum provides provide basic skills in machine tool operations and experience on a variety of machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, computer numerical control (CNC) machines, and the CAD-CAM, according to LaForest.
To become a NIMS Certified Machinist, Toolmaker, CNC Setup Programmer or a Certified Journey Worker at any NIMS occupation, the apprentice must earn NIMS credentials in demonstrating satisfactory performance in a required number of competencies. The average length of the competency-based Machine Tool program at TCAT Elizabethton is 1728 hours (16 months)
The NIMS Competency Based Apprenticeship System brings national standards and third party objective assessments to the nation’s metalworking industry, according to TCAT Elizabethton Director Dean Blevins.
There are local and regional job openings in Machine Tool awaiting graduates of the program. The salaries range from $22,600 to $34,200, depending upon level of competency, Blevins said. To view NIMS credential exit points in the curriculum, visit TCAT Elizabethton’s website, www.tcatelizabethton.edu.
Machine Tool Technology becomes the 11th full-time training program offered on ground by TCAT Elizabethton. Other full-time training programs that take 12 to 20 months to complete are offered in Administrative Office Technology, Automotive Technology, Computer Information Technology, Diesel Power Equipment Technology, Electricity-Electronics, HVAC-Refrigeration, Millwright-Industrial Maintenance, Pipefitting and Plumbing, Practical Nursing, and Welding.
Applications are now being accepted for the spring trimester that begins January 4, 2017. The tuition to attend TCAT Elizabethton is approximately $1,216 per trimester. Financial assistance from the Tennessee Lottery and Federal Pell Grant, up to $2,592 per trimester, is available to students who qualify. There is no out-of-state tuition charge.
TCAT Elizabethton is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents and accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. TCAT Elizabethton began operation in 1965 and has operated continuously since then. For additional information, contact TCAT Elizabethton at 423-543-0070.