South Iowa News

Area manufacturers are spending millions of dollars to incorporate more sophisticated machines and equipment into their facilities. 

The problem, however, is that there is an inherent struggle to fill the necessary positions with people that are capable of providing service to these machines. To address that problem, Indian Hills Community College is incorporating a new industrial maintenance course for prospective students.

It is extremely difficult for businesses to secure industrial maintenance technicians. According to Indian Hills Community College and Daily Iowegian, it is one of the top positions that they hear about from economic partners that need to get filled.

The new program is going to be launched at Indian Hills Community College’s Centerville campus. The program is going to be primarily directed toward the Rathbun Area Career Academy, which provides high school students in Centerville and its surrounding areas with access to college-level courses.

The program is receiving funding through the acquisition of local funding and state grants. Local employers in the area have contributed roughly $55,000 and the state has provided $50,000 through the Employer Innovation Fund.

As of right now, the secured funding will cover the purchase of Amatrol trainers for the new industrial maintenance lab at the Centerville campus. Currently, the community college is on the search to find an instructor to teach the program to students.

Upon completion of the course, high school juniors and seniors will receive a certification as an industry maintenance technician and also be halfway through an Associate of Applied Science in industrial maintenance if they wish to continue advancing their education. Lee Container’s Tony Paul spoke on the importance of maintenance technicians and the importance of a degree in the field, calling the profession a “doctor of machinery.”

“This industrial maintenance degree, to me, is kind of like going to school to be a doctor of machinery,” Paul said.

Within the Centerville and Corydon area, the need for industry maintenance technicians is huge. Factory leaders say that industry pay for those who go through the training program could start at $16.50 per hour and can go into the low $30 per hour range depending on experience, skill and education.

Current positions available can be found at East Penn Manufacturing, found in Corydon, Well Vehicle Electronics, Lee Container, C&C Machining Amcor, and Southern Iowa Heating and Cooling in Centerville, among many others.