Midway Aerospace technicians, from left, Eric Bullard, Francisco Vega Juarez, Jacob Tucker and Michael Bullard, participated in welding training at South Piedmont Community College.
A perfect example of South Piedmont Community College’s ability to quickly respond to local workforce needs recently took place at Midway Aerospace.
Based in Monroe, North Carolina, Midway Aerospace is a leading aviation repair station, specializing in maintaining components installed on Dassault Falcon business jets. Its technicians repair components — everything from smoke detectors to brakes — for customers around the globe.
Earlier this year, Midway partnered with South Piedmont to provide welding training to four employees. The training was provided through a newly created division at South Piedmont — Business Solutions. Business Solutions offers customized training, apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities, and includes the South Piedmont Community College Small Business Center.
“We felt South Piedmont’s welding program would be a good fit to complement and expand our in-house welding training. South Piedmont’s welding program builds on our existing training by expanding on welding comprehension and application,” said Kelli Venchierutti, site director at Midway.
Originally, Midway and South Piedmont partnered to for a 16-week stainless steel welding course. However, near the end of the course, Midway obtained a new product line that required aluminum welding.
“Stainless steel and aluminum welding are very different. (South Piedmont Welding Program Lead) Marvin Tyson was able to pivot during the last few classes to incorporate aluminum welding comprehension and application, which aligned perfectly with our needs,” Venchierutti said.
“Being agile and efficient in our business is imperative. With South Piedmont’s help, we were positioned to provide a significant and urgent product for our customers.”
Venchierutti added that South Piedmont made it easy to upskill Midway’s workforce while still keeping pace with day-to-day business.
“The College is only one mile away. We were able to start the welding training class early in the morning, enabling employees to drive straight to the College from home and then back to Midway for the rest of the day,” she said.
“The welding training strengthened employees’ existing skills and expanded their knowledge regarding stainless steel and aluminum. They are proud that their enhanced skill set benefits the company and our customers.”
Business Solutions strives to deliver exactly the type of outcomes that Midway experienced, said Vice President of Business Solutions Chris Rivera.
“Very simply, we exist to solve problems for local employers. We’re proud we were able to assist Midway and look forward to continuing our partnership,” he said.
Learn more about Business Solutions here: https://spcc.edu/areas-of-study/business-and-industry-training/