Southern Arizona Manufacturing Partners
2014 Internship Program Overview
Intended audience: Employers – Parents – Students
Background
In April of 2012 at an Aerospace and Defense forum on workforce issues the President of
Sargent Controls stated that Pima County had a drastic shortage of precision machinists, and,
for this industry, and for this community to grow, the skills gap needed to be addressed.
Based on this call to action, Pima County One Stop sent a survey to 38 machining based
companies and asked for their acknowledgement of the problem and for their participation in
solving the problem. The results from the companies confirmed that not only was there indeed a
shortage, but that 95% of them said they would be willing to get together and work on solutions
to fix the problem.
As a result of the overwhelming support from the companies to work together the Pima County
One Stop (PCOS) convened a machining industries focus group of 22 companies, to address
the issue of a skills gap in the precision machining occupation in Pima County.
Three distinct issues were determined as key to the workforce problem:
1. No industry focused training program existed in Pima county
2. Manufacturing, and machining in particular, had a bad reputation among the future
workforce and the parents of this workforce
3. Commitment on the part of the industry sector to have this effort be a long term and
sustainable program needed to be solidified
The following teams were formed to address these issues:
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Curriculum development or redesign (with Pima College and JTED as a partner) and
Apprenticeship/Internship programs development, with industry taking the lead
Marketing (filling the pipeline)
Organization of Southern Arizona Manufacturing Partners (SAMP)
Curriculum / Internship development project
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Recognizing that we had several resources for training, i.e. High School (Joint Technical
Education Districts) machining programs and Pima Community College Machine shop
Technology program the companies started looking at how to improve these programs.
Desert View High School had just started revamping their Machine Shop program so the
industry worked with the instructor to provide input on the types of skills that they would like
to see developed while in of high school. A commitment was made by industry to assist in
not only mentoring programs but internships for the graduating students. Tucson High
Magnet School had a fully developed program and the industry employers worked with the
instructors to assure that the students were being trained to industry standards. Much work
still needs to be done at the High School level, i.e. dual credits, NIMS certification, etc.
however the employers have made a group decision to support these efforts.
Several months of intense effort on the part of SAMP and Pima Community College (PCC)
resulted in a newly designed curriculum format. The existing Machine Shop curriculum at
PCC was used however the courses were rearranged to more correctly align with how
industry typically trains someone with entry level skills into the occupation. The skill
attainments build on themselves in synch with the educational component.
 There are four phases to the educational program consisting of Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and
Tier IV which in effect gets the student to a certificate in Machine Shop technology is a
20 month, four semester program; Fall, Spring Summer and Fall is the standard
timeframe. (page 5 of this document)
 Federal, State and County funding will cover the costs of the educational component.
 The program design is for the companies to afford the students, (Interns) with job
opportunities during the 20 months of educational training. The internship program will
correlate the on job training with the machinists’ curriculum skills attainment.
 The internship program will also include the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council
(MSSC) Certified Production Technician (CPT) course. This is an on-line program that
the student will do on their own time, or companies may allow the student to do at work.
Internship / Work experience
High School students who are graduating from the Desert View High School (Sunnyside
School District) and Tucson High Magnet High School (Tucson Unified School District)
precision machining programs along with interested veterans, dislocated workers or
underemployed individuals will fill out applications, and interview for an opportunity for a
career opportunity within the machining industry. These interns will be attending Pima
Community College (PCC) and committing to the 20 month industry designed pilot project
for machining technology.
Financial obligations:
Student/Interns selected for the program will be on the payroll of a Community Based
Organization (CBO) during this entire period leading up to starting their educational
program. This is generally 320 hours. This program typically starts immediately after high
school graduation in May. This feature of the program will preclude the companies from
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having to put them on their direct payroll until Tier I training begins. All liability issues will be
incurred by the CBO during this 320 hour internship period.
The Pima County One-Stop will fund the students for the first 160 hours of the intern
program at $8.50 per hour while they receive machining industry work experience at their
respective employer.
At the end of the first 160 hours the Companies will then pay the students at least $8.50 per
hour for the remainder of the summer program leading up to Pima Community College’s fall
semester.
Once the 320 hour internship program is complete the clients will be placed on the employer
payroll and will enroll in Tier I training at PCC. The requirement is that the students will be
working part-time (some companies are working the students full-time) with the machinists
companies while attending the Machinists program.
Students will sign work study agreements with their respective companies that allow the
companies to monitor their school progress as well as their work progresses. Companies in
turn agree to provide the students with meaningful machinists’ training that corresponds with
the training attained in school.
Student Requirements:
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Graduation from high school
10th grade level math skill per One-Stop Test of Adult Education (TABE) and PCC
assessments
18 years of age by June 1st
Completed application with appropriate documentation(page 6 of this document)
Application letter clearly stating why they wish to be accepted into the SAMP internship
program
Ability to attend, application, interview(s), introduction, and orientation sessions.
Available for work related internship beginning in June. This work will continue
throughout the 20 month period
Ability to attend ALL classes at Pima Community College classes as scheduled and
attain passing grades in each class.
Marketing program:
Recognizing that it had been about ten years since the industry had been proactive in reaching
out to the future workforce, and needing to dispel the image that “machining” was a dirty word,
the group worked to brand itself; such the formation of SAMP, develop a brochure to market the
new advances in the industry and make a presence in the community. The brochure was
developed to appeal to Industry, Parents and Students. There have been several functions, i.e.
industry tours, High School Career days, Keys to Employment events, the Manufacturing Block
Party, several television interviews, and several newspaper articles that have been utilized to
change this image. The marketing group is constantly revamping materials and working to make
SAMP a known entity in High School, College and the home of future manufacturing workers.
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Conclusion
The program is now in its second year and has 7 companies and 10 students enrolled. The
second year starts May 2014 and the expectation is there will be additional 12 new students
entering the program. The expectation is another 10 companies will join this program bringing
the total to 15-17 companies and 20 plus students.
Next Step
Interviews will be held students will have the chance to interview with companies that commit to
engage in the mission to produce a local machining workforce pipeline. Exact date and time is
yet to be determined. This initial phase is expected to take place late April. Employers to date:
Abrams Manufacturing
Hi-Tech Engineering
AGM Containers
Industrial Tool & Die Engineering
American Turbo
Johns Manville
B/E Aerospace
Sargent Aerospace
FLSmidth/Krebs
Zygo
SAMP PCC Machining Project Course Curriculum (Tiers 1-4)
Tier I
MAC 100 – Introduction to Machine Tool / 3credit hrs.
MAC 110- Session 1- Manual Machine Shop / 2 credit hrs.
CAD 117- Print Reading with CAD for Mfg./ 4 credit hrs.
9 credits
Tier 2
MAC 110- Session 2- Manual Machine Shop/ 2 credit hrs.
MAC 125- Mechanical Inspection / 4 credit hrs.
MAC 130 – Machine Shop Setup and Fixture Making / 3 credit hrs.
BCT 100 - 1 credit hr. self-paced OR BUS 148- 3 credit for those leading to Assoc. Degree
10 credits OR 12 credits
Tier 3
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MAC 150 – CNC Mill Programming I / 4 credit hrs.
CAD 172 – Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing / 3 credit hrs.
7 credits
Tier 4
MAC 155 – CNC Mill Programming II / 4 credit hrs.
MAC 160 – CNC Lathe Programming / 4 credit hrs.
GTM – Applied Technical Mathematics / 3 credit hrs.
11 credits
TOTAL CREDITS: 39
Student documentation- necessary at time of application:
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Picture ID (driver’s license, State Identification Card or School ID)
Proof of US Citizenship (Birth Certificate, US Passport, Baptismal Certificate, Certificate
of Naturalization OR Immigration Card, etc.)
Proof of Eligible to Work in the U.S. (YOUR Social Security Card)
Proof of Household Income for the Past SIX months (A recent pay stub with the year to
date info, Self-Employment Tax Information, OR a letter from your employer, etc.)
Household Verification (Everyone who resides in the home with you -we need their
social security numbers, not their cards)
Proof of Address (Utility Bill, Post Marked Mail in YOUR name, Lease Agreement, or
letter from person providing housing at this time)
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Proof of School Status (HS Diploma, GED, HS Transcripts)
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IF APPLICABLE:
o Proof of Veteran Status (DD 214/Discharge Summary)
o Proof of Public Assistance (Food Stamp Award Letter, Youth on Their Own
Letter, Award Letter for Cash Assistance/TANF, Social Security Award Letter,
etc.)
o Proof of Disability (Letter from Doctor, School Records, or other documentation
from VA, etc.)
o All Male clients born on January 1, 1960 or after must have registered with
Selective Services when you were between the ages of 18-26 years of age.
Proof of registration will be acquired at the time of your intake.
o Proof of Dislocation from previous employer (Lay off letter, WARN Notice,
Employer statement, etc.)
o Proof of Unemployment Insurance Income (Award Letter from UI or Severance
Packet Information)
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The industry is well on its way to developing the workforce of tomorrow. If you are
interested in joining this vibrant and forward looking industry sector group or finding out
more about the program please contact:
Gerri Brunson – Pima County One Stop – 520.243.6733
Don Theriault - Industrial Die & Engineering - 520.745.8771
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