LIMA, OH (WLIO) - A partnership between a local manufacturer and a college has hit a milestone year, and they don't see it stopping anytime soon.
Rhodes State College and GROB Systems taking time Friday morning to celebrate 10 years of their apprenticeship program. Since 2012, 270 apprentices were hired at GROB and both sides consider it a win-win situation.
"They bring a level of education that we could not do alone," says Michael Hutecker, CEO & president of GROB Systems. "So, working together with Rhodes, it helps us elevate the quality of education."
"It is a partnership that is helping GROB to grow and it is moving into a whole new realm of industry," says Dr. Cynthia Spiers, president of Rhodes State College. "Rhodes State is working with GROB to identify the skill sets they need, and we are going to move right along beside them as a partner."
GROB has moved from making components for combustible engines to electric vehicles, to looking at making components for batteries for those vehicles. Along the way, the skill sets of their workforce continue to be more advanced and so does the training needed for the apprentices that will be working at GROB.
"Rhodes can bring us the basic education on how these new technologies work," adds Hutecker. "And once our apprentices have that basic education, basic know-how, we can then take them and teach them the details and the manufacturing know-how that we need here in the company."
Community colleges like Rhodes are ready to train students, whatever the need that manufacturers have.
"We can pretty much turn on a dime anymore. So, when a manufacturing organization needs a particular training and certain skill set and even in the soft skills. We are meeting with that industry and identifying with what they need and we can put something in place pretty quickly."
GROB currently has around 40 apprentices from Rhodes right now, but they would like to double that hopefully if they have the space in the future.
