COTC gearing up to provide Intel workers

COSHOCTON − Providing a pipeline of workers for the Intel chip plant coming to Licking County is a primary focus of Central Ohio Technical College at all its campuses.

President John Berry recently gave a state of the college address at Montgomery Hall in Coshocton. The college also has campuses in Newark, Mount Vernon and Pataskala.

Berry talked about the college rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, renovations to Founders Hall in Newark, new leadership being hired in the past year, College Credit Plus pathways and the Coshocton Promise program, that gives free tuition to county residents once other funding revenue is exhausted.

Berry's speech last year included a focus on the Intel economic boost to the area and what role community colleges like COTC would play. While there had been talks with Intel representatives, what they were looking for exactly was still unclear. Berry said they have a much better picture now of what Intel needs and are adjusting programs and classes to fulfill those needs. Berry said while the semiconductor industry is new to the college, preparation for advance manufacturing is not.

"We have always served an advanced manufacturing community in all our campus locations. This one (Coshocton) being one of the prime," Berry said. "Intel, at its heart, is advance manufacturing. What we want people to understand is what they do and how they process is just a variation of advance manufacturing in an interesting environment."

What Intel is looking for

COTC has been told that Intel plans to add 3,000 new high tech jobs with half of those to be hired by 2024. Of those jobs, 70% will be technicians, 25% will be engineers and 5% will be support staff.

Technicians must demonstrate an interest and experience with maintenance and repair or troubleshooting equipment along with the ability to perform detailed visual inspection tasks and having experience with using basic hand tools and basic computer skills.

Berry said Intel also wants technicians who work well in a diverse team environment and with minimal supervision, while adjusting well to changing priorities who also have strong analytical problem-solving and testing skills and experience reading schematics, drawings and diagrams.

"If this is a skill set you're drawn to and are comfortable with, we're going to try to connect you to this dot," Berry said.

Berry said about 80% of what Intel is looking for COTC already offers in its engineering technology associate degree program. What they don't offer, but will be adding, is knowledge and skill working with vacuum systems and cleanrooms and wafer processing and wafer processing equipment. A wafer is a thin slice of semiconductor used to fabricate integrated circuits.

Berry said at least half of the coursework can be completed on the Coshocton campus, but lab work will need to be done at the Newark campus.

"In the state of Ohio, we've never really done this. It's not what we do, it's not a semiconductor base. We're having to learn this process to make sure we can engineer that and then learn how to teach you to be able to do that," Berry said.

Having the employee pipeline

All curriculum should be finalized and validated by April. Semiconductor curriculum modules will be widely disseminated via online platforms to Ohio's community colleges in May. June to December will see targeted marking of the semiconductor programs with such programs starting this fall for some colleges, including COTC. There are 23 two-year colleges in Ohio.

Berry said there's an entry level certificate students can complete in 30 credit hours, or two semesters. While that will get them in with Intel, they need an associate degree to progress. He said Intel is willing to help pay for them to get that degree. He also said College Credit Plus students could come out of high school already with that entry-level certification.

"It's going to take almost all of us producing at some level. COTC and Columbus State are expected to do the vast majority, because we're the closest in proximity," Berry said. "We know that we need a pathway. But, once that pathway is done, we need as many people in it as possible."

Berry talked about partnerships being important in finding students and letting people know about the semiconductor programs. This includes working with the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, JobsOhio, Ohio Means Jobs, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, secondary school systems, Intel itself and other entities.

Berry also said they want to focus on certain communities that have often been overlooked or underserved in the technology fields. This includes women, veterans, Appalachian communities, people of color and new American populations, like African immigrants.

In summary, Berry said their focus from here is to continue to modify and expand all of its programs and ways to access education, such as College Credit Plus. He said they're looking at new programs that could be in support of Intel and other manufacturers related to drones, commercial driver's licenses and logistics and supply chain supervisors.

"Intel hires their own nurses. They hire their own police force. Other things we produce they are also looking to hire in a smaller scale," Berry said. "There's a lot of work to be done and it's why we're spending so much time with (Intel) connecting all of these dots."

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: COTC gearing up to provide Intel workers