Madison College offers more free automation classes

From wisnews.com: “MATC offers more free automation classes” — A $3.3 million federal grant that has allowed MATC to teach free automated manufacturing classes to local industrial workers for nearly three years has been extended for another year.

“We had money to spend, and we weren’t done with everything we wanted to do,” said Schauna Rasmussen, the EDA grant’s manager for MATC.

Two more classes will be offered this fall, and the college plans to turn its new array of courses into an associate’s degree program to begin in fall 2013.

The grant was part of a package announced nearly three years ago by the Economic Development Administration. Other money went to Portage and the Columbia County Economic Development Corp. to build the 32,000-square-foot Portage Enterprise Center on Kutzke Road, where robotics classes now are taught; to Reedsburg for industrial park expansion; and to Waterloo to renovate a training building.

Rasmussen said employees of 25 companies have participated in the manufacturing class program. The companies include Cardinal Glass, Alsum Farms & Produce Inc. and Appleton’s Encapsys unit in Portage. So far, the college has recorded 363 completions out of 397 registrations in eight advanced manufacturing courses and seven hybrid automotive courses. Many students signed up for more than one class, so the number of completions is higher than the number of individuals using the program.

Rasmussen said the college is collecting information to gauge the program’s success.

“We want to follow up with students and find out from them have they received jobs? Have they received promotions?” she said.

Even without EDA money, she said, MATC will take ownership of the classes and make them part of an associate’s degree in automotive manufacturing systems technology.

“The goal is not for these classes to go away once the grant is done,” she said.

Students can sign up for two free intermediate-level classes now:

• Robotics for Industrial Automation, level 2. The class covered intermediate tasks for setting up and programming robotic machinery. 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays from Oct. 25 to Dec. 20.

• PLC for Industrial Automation, level 2. The class uses Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation PLCs and other equipment. 1:30 to 5:45 p.m. Thursdays from Oct. 25 to Dec. 20.

The Portage Enterprise Center is located at 1800 Kutzke Road. Room 125 will be used for both classes.

To register, contact Claudette Zweifel at 243-4466 or czweifel@madisoncollege.edu. For more information, contact John Lalor at 745-3133 or jlalor@madisoncollege.edu.