SBCSS News and Press Releases

Technical Employment Training Center Graduates 20 Students

2012-07-31

SAN BERNARDINO - After working in customer service and sales, Donald Young of Fontana said he decided to find a hands-on career where he could learn a manufacturing skill quickly.

He found the educational program he needed at Technical Employment Training, Inc. (TET) at the San Bernardino International Airport. TET is a training school that incorporates a public-private partnership featuring Regional Occupational Program (ROP) instructors from the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

"This is my first introduction into learning manufacturing processes. The program is very hands-on and helpful for starting a new career," Young said.

He was one of 20 graduates of the program, who were recognized by the County Schools' ROP at a ceremony on July 23. Each of the graduates had to complete 630 hours of training at the facility, which is located at 194 N. Leland Norton in San Bernardino.

The students learned the technical and business aspects of the machinist trade and graduate with two certifications of the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, an industry standard.

The graduating class was the fifth for TET, which started in June 2010. The school has had an 81 percent placement rate for students who complete the course and are looking for jobs.

TET is in the process of recruiting students for its next class that will begin in September. The school started as a cooperative business and education model between Kelly Space & Technology, the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' ROP and the county's Workforce Investment Board.

"The demand for these highly skilled and highly technical workers is there in manufacturing," said Bill Clarke, president of TET. "The day that many of these students graduated, we had them out interviewing for jobs."

Young was one of them, interviewing for a machinist position in Devore. Having the skills acquired in Computer Numerical Control or CNC that he learned at the school are what industry employers need.

Here are the members of the July graduating class: Marc Adams; Ivan Cortes; Johnathan Delgado; Santiago Fernandez, Viviana Gallegos; Stephen Gates; Rudy Johnson; Ronald Kennedy; Kyle Lawson; Zilco Mainaky; John Oloteo; Elizabeth Painter; Robert Rains; Julian Segura; Michael Serna Jr.; Gerald Smith; David Stevens; Byron Turckheim; Gina Winfrey; and Donald Young.

Michael Verrett and Derelyn Howard are ROP instructors for the program.

"This a program that not only gets the students job ready, but also helps them get jobs," said Kit Alvarez, administrator of County Schools' ROP. "It's amazing to me in this current job climate how in demand these students are. We're very pleased with the results the students are achieving."

For more information about Technical Employment Training, contact the center at (909) 382-4141.