RichmondCC Leaders Travel to Washington to Learn about New Training Software

July 29, 2024 – Representatives from Richmond Community College were invited to Washington, D.C., recently as special guests of the National Institute of Metalworking Skills for a launch of NIMS’ new training software at an event hosted by the National Manufacturers Association.

The STS platform, which is an acronym for Smart Training Solutions, allows for content to be captured, analyzed and updated in real time both in the classroom and on the job site by an app that can be downloaded to a cell phone or tablet.

“Training in the natural flow of work is the most effective way to meet desired job performance,” said NIMS Executive Director Montez King. “Many organizations invest in Learning Management Systems (LMS) to improve workplace performance, but still recognize huge gaps in desired job performance. The STS framework and technology complements your LMS by empowering you to train and evaluate where it matters most — on the floor, in your natural workflow, and with minimum impact on production.”

RichmondCC has been partnering with NIMS for a year as part of its revamping of the College’s Industrial Systems Technician program, which was transitioned from a two-year degree to a short-term training program comprised of two phases. The STS software is also being implemented in RichmondCC’s program and will allow students’ progress to be easily documented.

“It’s a commonsense initiative,” said King. “It allows for digitized up-to-date data to be collected in a way that can be quickly and easily documented and shared.”

It also aligns with RichmondCC’s vision of modernizing its trade programs and moving workers more quickly and efficiently into the field.

“What we were seeing was that industries were in such need of industrial mechanics that they didn’t have time to wait for students to complete two years of study,” said Dr. Dale McInnis, president of RichmondCC. “So many of our students were starting the program and then getting jobs and leaving school after a semester or two once they had gotten only the basics. In response to that, we redesigned our program to make better use of those semesters.”

Industrial Systems Program Coordinator Gibby Peele condensed RichmondCC’s two-year degree into a two-phased, 30-week program, that ultimately resulted in providing students with nearly 200 more hours of hands-on training than they were receiving in the two-year program.

“We revamped the program to meet for full days two-and-a-half days a week, as opposed to various 90-minute classes meeting sporadically over the course of two years,” said Program Development Director Leighton Bell, who assisted Peele with revamping the program. “This also allowed students to work full-time hours the other two-and-a-half days a week, which made it more convenient for companies to invest in employees they wanted to train to advance into roles as industrial mechanics.”

Local companies were also invited to provide feedback for their specific industrial maintenance needs as part of the revamping of the program. Representatives from NIMS, including King, facilitated those workshops, which led to a national certification customized specifically for industries within RichmondCC’s service area.

“Another benefit of making the change to short-term training and partnering with NIMS is the speed in which adjustments can be made to what’s required for certifications based on the ever-evolving industry needs,” said Dean of Engineering and Trades at RichmondCC John Kester. “What we’ve historically seen is technology and industry needs advancing at a higher speed than academic training, and this new real-time software will allow us to adjust and reformat our program at the same rate of speed.”

RichmondCC will be graduating its third group of Industrial Systems students on Aug. 13. Students participate in an exhibition to showcase their skills prior to the official ceremony, which also includes time set aside for industries to meet one-on-one with the graduates.

RichmondCC’s next Industrial Systems Technician class will begin Sept. 3. To sign up, call (910) 410-1700.

For more information about RichmondCC’s Industrial Systems Technician program or NIMS new STS platform, please call (910) 410-1775.