Industrial Technology

One of the larger areas being addressed in our school bond proposal is our shop area.  Currently our shop area is heavily outdated.  Much of our equipment is in need of repair or replacement and safety is very much a concern.

As with most staff at Central, Mr. O'Brien wears multiple hats.  He teaches both ag classes and industrial technology classes.  With only 8 periods in a day, this limits what Central can offer.  So we have to get creative in order to offer more for our students.  We have looked into a couple ways to do this.  Currently I am in discussions with Mobile Track Solutions and CAT to see if they would have interest in teaching some of our classes, possibly even offering them at night for working adults.  The other option we are exploring is getting Mr. O'Brien some additional training so he can offer Certified Production Technician courses for duel credit through NICC.

Why is all of this important?  Well, look at these stats:

• Advanced manufacturing has grown 179% in the past decade.
• The State of Iowa predicts a shortfall of 6672 skilled workers by 2018.
• The average manufacturing worker makes $77,066 annually in pay and benefits.
• Area school districts are also making moves to offer more of these classes for their students.
• And most importantly, this job shortage exists in our school district.

I look forward to working with MTS, CAT, NICC, and other local manufacturing companies as we look to update our industrial technology area and class offerings.  Hopefully a lot more to come on this discussion.