A new trade school with partnerships in the local business community is seeking students to learn industrial maintenance mechanics.
Opportunity Stanislaus, in partnership with the Stanislaus County Office of Education, announced that enrollment is now open at Volt Institute, the Central Valley's newest trade school.
Housed in downtown Modesto, Volt's initial focus is on training industrial maintenance mechanics. The program was chosen at the request of local businesses which report over 200 vacancies at present with the number set to climb higher as baby boomers retire.
VOLT was launched earlier this year with the goal of taking unskilled and semi-skilled workers and turning them into much higher skilled workers with greater earning potential.
"This whole idea is to take people who, for whatever reason, have been left behind in this strong economy that need a chance or opportunity to go forward," said Opportunity Stanislaus CEO David White about the program in September. "That's what VOLT is about."
The curriculum begins with foundational skills on how to be an employee-everything businesses reported lacking in current applicants from safety to efficiency to professionalism and then students get to learn on equipment that mirrors that in factories/plants locally enabling them to emerge ready to work.
Tuition is a third of the closest similar program, with grants and scholarships available. In just over nine months, students can be working in a trade earning an average of $60,000 a year.
Some local companies have identified internal candidates that need to be upskilled in order to fill these positions. In those cases, the employers are partially reimbursed through ETP funds and students can take advantage of flexible scheduling where classes are available day and evening.
These incumbent workers come from local supporting companies including Gallo, Blue Diamond, Doctors Medical Center, Stanislaus Food Products, Foster Farms, Rizo Lopez Foods, and Pacific Southwest Container.
Enrollment has started and will continue through mid-October. For more information visit www.voltinstitute.com or call 566-9102.
