Manufacturing Firm CEO: Bluefield State Not Out To Usurp Local Colleges
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WHEELING -- Business leaders at both ends of the state say that Bluefield State College's effort to provide accredited engineering programs and training initiatives in the Ohio Valley should not be viewed as a move to create competition amongst existing institutions of higher learning in the area.
Bluefield State officials gathered an array of Ohio Valley business executives during a dinner where Shannon Remines, president and CEO of Industrial Plating and Machine of Bluefield, W.Va., spoke about how a program offered through Bluefield State College helped his company.
Several officials from Wheeling-area manufacturers and companies attended the dinner where Remines gave his presentation.
Executives and business representatives included officials from Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, Tunnel Ridge Mine, Tecnocap, Silgan Plastics, H.E. Neumann and American Plate Glass, along with officials from the city of Wheeling and other local companies.
"Through a collaboration, we were able to set up a job training program that really was tailor-made to fit my business," Remines said. "We did an eight-week program on Wednesday nights, and they really accommodated our time schedule, too. These are guys who are master machinists and master mechanics, but with technology, there are always ways to brush up on what's the latest and greatest. Bluefield was truly a dream to work with."
Remines said his company is close to the Bluefield State campus, and the college has a stellar reputation in the southern West Virginia community.
"The mindset of the school is to really help first-generation college students," Remines said. "Bluefield State really caters to that kind of kid. On the flip side, the average age of the students there, I think, is about 27. There are a lot of folks who work toward their second career there, too."
Remines himself completed his education at Emory and Henry College in Virginia many years ago, but noted that continuing education is vital in the world of business and manufacturing where technology is continuously evolving.
What Bluefield offers through its engineering and manufacturing programs, Remines said, not only educates new students but also helps existing companies keep up in the 21st century.
Remines said that when senior engineers and machinists have to train new employees, overall production goes down. Tailor-made training programs that are done in-person make this process much easier and more efficient.
"I think what Bluefield State wants to offer in that region is customized training that they'll do in a lab much like they do here in Bluefield."
Engineering degrees can be obtained online from anywhere, but hands-on lab training is something that obviously must be done in-person.
"It's exciting for me because what I think we're short on in America as a whole is truly talented people who can work with their hands," Remines said. "That comes with high wages and great benefits in a supply and demand scenario."
Remines agreed that institutions would like to develop engineering and manufacturing programs like those that Bluefield offers. Then they realize the costs involved to employ a qualified engineer willing to oversee the program and the protocols that must be met to establish the program. Bluefield State officials have said that process could take years.
"I don't think Bluefield State would want to take anything away from the education system that's in Wheeling," Remines said. "I think what they're trying to do is fill in some of the gaps that would help industry, and I think overall what happens when you fill in those gaps, there's probably going to be more opportunity for education in other areas. Once industry starts growing, rising tides do raise all ships. It seems like they create more jobs."
Remines said even his most senior engineers attended Bluefield's training courses and came back with new ideas.
Eric Anderson, general manager at Tunnel Ridge, said that the presentation where Remines discussed Bluefield State's programs was taken in the spirit of improving local educational and training opportunities.
"It's my understanding that those engineering technology programs are not offered around here," Anderson said. He noted that he cannot speak to what the other local colleges do offer in relation to other industry needs, but added that he did not feel Bluefield's proposal should be viewed as detrimental to the other local institutions.
"As far as they're concerned, what they're proposing gives local kids options for hands-on experience that may be a little different than what other engineering programs may offer," Anderson said. "I did attend the dinner meeting and heard a little bit more about their program. They offer customized training, and I don't think anybody got the impression that they were taking anything away from anybody."