Western Nevada College’s partnership with Panasonic creates job opportunities for students

A new partnership between Western Nevada College and Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America can lead to job opportunities at the Gigafactory in Northern Nevada.

Those interested need to enroll in two advanced manufacturing training classes to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for employment by Northern Nevada manufacturers such as Panasonic and Tesla Motors.

WNC is accepting enrollment in Fundamentals of Applied Industrial Technology (AIT 101) and Applied Industrial Technology Hands-on Lab (AIT 155) through mid-July so students can meet the employment demand that is coming.

“Our summer training program is in response to job openings that need trained applicants,” said WNC Electronics and Industrial Technology Professor Emily Howarth. “They want to hire Nevadans, and lots of people apply, but many of those are not trained or skilled so they are not eligible for hire.

“These are very targeted job openings that are coming up in manufacturing in the fall. These classes are aligned with the job descriptions of the positions that will be opening.”

The manufacturing job opportunities are in response to Tesla Motors building a $5 billion, 10-million-square-foot factory east of Sparks in Lyon County to make car batteries.

The accelerated online and lab-driven classes at WNC will provide students with the know-how in areas such as AC/DC electrical, pneumatics, relay controls and hydraulics. Students will have the opportunity to practice on Web-based simulators and train on equipment during lab sessions.

“WNC is a comfortable place to get technical training to improve job options,” Howarth said. “We have all the right equipment and classes to help people get good-paying jobs with high-tech manufacturing, distribution and logistics companies in Northern Nevada. The added bonus is that our training courses also offer college credit.”

Howarth said the Tuesday and Thursday lab sessions will be instructor-led. Students can polish their skills with additional lab time on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, as well as all day on Wednesdays. Students will have access to computers to perform their online course requirements.

Besides becoming employment-ready in manufacturing, passing these classes applies to WNC’s Associate of Applied Science degrees in Technology-General Industrial and Technology-Automated Systems.

The accelerated manufacturing training classes run through the first week of August.

“A motivated student could finish the coursework in four weeks, but the more time they have to practice, the stronger their skills will be,” Howarth said.

For more information, contact Howarth at Emily.howarth@wnc.edu.