Request Info

Closing the Competitive Skills Gap: NTI Working with Business Leaders to Reinvent Workforce Development

Posted on April 11, 2017
  • Home
  • |
  • Blog
  • |
  • Closing the Competitive Skills Gap: NTI Working with Business Leaders to Reinvent Workforce Development

Northeast Technical Institute’s Manufacturing Technician training program bridges the gap in workforce
development for entry level workers

Student Coco Kazadi

Student Coco Kazadi training at NTI ‘s
manufacturing shop in Scarborough. Coco was placed for full-time employment
at New England Tech Air.

PR Web; BDN | Scarborough, ME | April 11, 2017 – With the unemployment rate at a nine year low, manufacturers are struggling to fill open positions for semi-skilled production workers. The labor pool is shrinking at a time when demand for production capacity is at its highest point.

Northeast Technical Institute in Scarborough, Maine is working with Maine Career Centers in Portland to bridge the gap in workforce development for entry level workers. NTI’s Manufacturing Technician (Man Tech) program provides value for the student by keeping them focused on the basic employment needs of industry. In a span of eleven weeks, students learn industry fundamentals, blueprint reading, shop math, lean manufacturing, precision measurement, workplace safety, and workplace effectiveness. This 280-hour program combines classroom lecture, e-learning, and bench work to assimilate students into an agile workforce.

“NTI’s response to the needs of employers is innovative and encouraging.  We have hired several graduates from NTI and we’re looking for more!”  – Cindy Caplice, HR Director, SIGCO, Inc.

“This curriculum was conceived by employers from many industry sectors,” says Peter Weymouth, NTI’s Training Coordinator. “The magic happens when employers exploit the consistent output of work-ready talent entering the workforce every eleven weeks. Utilizing a high-velocity training model, the Man Tech program provides the job seeker with multiple options for employment in higher wage positions.”

Human Resource Director Cincy Caplice of SIGCO, Inc. in Westbrook, Maine says, “NTI has been a positive partner for SIGCO.  Employers in Maine need employees with the very skills that are being taught in this Manufacturing Tech class. NTI’s response to the needs of employers is innovative and encouraging. We have hired several graduates from NTI and we’re looking for more!”

In response to the shortage of skilled workers in all manufacturing sectors, Northeast Technical Institute is taking a coalition approach as a service provider for the Maine Department of Labor Competitive Skills Scholarship Program (CSSP). CSSP is intended to provide individuals with access to education, training and support leading to skilled, well-compensated jobs with anticipated high employment demand, to improve the economic well-being of the participants in the program, and to provide employers with a skilled labor force.

About Northeast Technical Institute
Northeast Technical Institute (NTI) is Maine’s only locally owned and operated accredited career training school with campuses in Bangor, Scarborough and an extension campus in Lewiston.  NTI is VA approved  and offers  Federal Financial Aid, grants and scholarships for many of its  programs  and for those who qualify. With its short-term, hands-on approach to training, NTI graduates are  job-ready, may earn national certification, and are prepared to meet the industry’s staffing needs for qualified professionals. The school offers in-demand training for a range of medical programs, including Medical Assistant, Medical Lab Assistant, Medical Coding and Billing, and Phlebotomy.  Information Technology programs are offered at the Scarborough campus.  HVAC/R and CDL Truck Driving are offered at the school’s Scarborough and Bangor campuses, Manufacturing Technician is offered in Scarborough with plans to launch the program in Lewiston in 2017. Most programs  at NTI start each month.  For more information, contact 207.805.8000 or visit  www.ntinow.edu.