PORT HENRY — About 50 people gathered to learn about employment opportunities that will result from the Laurentian Aerospace Corporation project.
The main topic was information about Plattsburgh Aeronautical Institute. The Federal Aviation Administration-certified Part 147 Airframe and Powerplant school is located at the CV-TEC satellite campus at the former Clinton County Airport.
Plattsburgh Satellite Campus Principal Jim McCartney III said, "My being here tonight means the past six years we've been working to create a Part-147 FAA-certified Airframe and Powerplant school has been a success."
McCartney said Laurentain Aerospace officials are part of the institute's advisory board. They will be able to provide direct input on what is needed at the school to meet the company's employment needs.
The workforce is expected to be about 200 people when the facility is completed, and grow to 900 within two years. The facility will make the latest in technology available to employees, such as iPads for every worker.
That would allow them to access the history of the aircraft they will work on, view a task list, order parts and sign off on the work.
Efficient workers
McCartney said Laurentian Aerospace officials told him 70 percent of the efficiencies that would make the project a success have to come from a well-trained workforce.
The Laurentian Aerospace team believes they will eventually build at least three hangars, with about 900 jobs at each. McCartney said they also expect support companies to create five times that many jobs, in parts, electrical, paint, metallurgy and more.
"I'm telling you this so you know what to expect and what you need to get these jobs," he said.
The Part-147 program requires 2,200 hours of study in general, airframe and powerplant instruction. There are daytime and nighttime sessions, the latter for adult learners only.
Students need to have at least a 10th-grade education.
The Aeronautical Institute has articulation agreements with three institutions of higher learning. Students who successfully complete the program and receive FAA-certification can receive up to 30 credit hours at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 42 hours at Mohawk Valley Community College and 36 hours at Clinton Community College.
McCartney said the satellite campus is moving toward a focus on the transportation industry.
Campus officials recently started an advanced welding program that requires 700-hours of study and training. The main intent was to provide employees for Bombardier, but those skills will also be needed at companies such as Laurentian Aerospace and Nova Bus.
North Country Regional Workforce Investment Board Executive Director Paul Grasso Jr. said the board administers federal employment and training funding that comes into Clinton, Essex and Hamilton counties. Although Laurentian Aerospace doesn't expect to start hiring for about a year, there are things people who want to be employed there can work on now, he said.
Grasso said Laurentian Aerospace will test for drug use before hiring, during training and during employment.
"It's an FAA requirement," he said.
Work readiness
Laurentian Aerospace wants to use self-directed work teams, Grasso said, so the company expects every employee to have the Work Readiness Credential. That training is available through Champlain Valley Education Services and helps develop skills such as math, reading, problem solving, decision making and conflict resolution.
Grasso said the Workforce Investment Board is working on two grant applications to help fund training.
Grasso said Stacy Soucy, a business service representative with the New York State Department of Labor, is the single point of hiring for Laurentian Aerospace.
Soucy said he will meet with company representatives during the next few months to develop lists of desired job skills.
"My position with the Department of Labor is basically to liaison with businesses and meet the needs they have to find workers to make their businesses better," he said.
Soucy is presently accepting resumes and prefers they be sent electronically.
The initial employees will come from a mix of high-level, mid-level and basic-level mechanics and administrative personnel. There will eventually be about 200 administrative employees, he said, in fields such as sales.
There will also eventually be about 500 mechanics positions. Soucy said he hopes to have a list of desired skills by June, and advised potential employees to get as much additional training as possible.
Ellen Gordon, manager of the OneWorkSoure Office in Elizabethtown, said her office is working closely with Soucy. All of the information needed to apply for a job will be available at the Elizabethtown office, she said.
That office can also help with the application process and provide resume assistance.
Interested in jobs
Matthew Beach, of Crown Point, said he's interested in landing a job at Laurentian Aerospace. He has a business and technology management degree from Clarkson and has been looking for a job for nearly a year. Beach said he was pleased to hear there would be so many administrative positions.
"It wasn't very clear they would have administrative positions available until he (Soucy) started to speak," Beach said.
Michael Jones, of Saranac Lake, said he regrets not getting his airframe and powerplant certification while he worked as a jet mechanic in the Air Force. He left the service in 1991 and has worked in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business for 16 years.
Jones said he's interested in switching gears, and had invested about 18 months in radiology technician study at North Country Community College before he realized working in a hospital wasn't for him.
He does plan to do more research on the Aeronautical Institute, but believes the commute and long hours of study would be too much to continue his job. Jones said that doesn't appear possible with an 11-year-old son and house and car payments.
The session was organized by the Essex County Industrial Development Agency. Co-director Carol Calabrese said the agency is also working with Empire State Development and the New York State Department of Labor to help county residents take advantage of the opportunity.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for this region. We want the people of Essex County to take advantage of it."
E-mail Dan Heath at:
dheath@pressrepublican.com
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