PALMDALE, Calif., Feb. 12, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Antelope Valley College will be honored by California's premier occupational education association for an innovative partnership that provides necessary skills for students seeking jobs in the aerospace industry.
The California Community College Association for Occupational Education will present its Excellence in Partnerships Award to the college's Certification Training Program, which in its initial session last summer trained 19 students who were subsequently hired by Northrop Grumman. The award will be presented in March at a statewide conference in San Francisco.
"This cooperative effort points to the value of community colleges in helping turn around our nation's economy," said Dr. Jackie L. Fisher Sr., president of Antelope Valley College. "There are jobs out there for people with the right education and skills. We have the ability to train people for jobs quickly and cost effectively."
"Residents of this community receive the quality education necessary for highly skilled, high-wage jobs," said Orville Dothage, manager for Northrop Grumman's Advanced Production Training Centers. "And Northrop Grumman has a ready talent pool of well-trained mechanics in the local population from which to fill our current and future hiring needs."
Northrop Grumman operations in and around the Antelope Valley employ more than 2,600 people, most of them at its Palmdale Manufacturing Center at Air Force Plant 42.
Northrop Grumman approached the college early in 2008 about providing training for much-needed aircraft fabricators. Within weeks, the college modified its existing curriculum and calendar to create an intensive summer training program. Training was provided at the college's state-of-the-art facilities eight hours a day, five days a week during an eight-week summer session.
All 19 students that Northrop Grumman hired from the first class are still with the company. Since last summer, another group of students has trained at the college, bringing the number of students hired from the program to nearly 50.
The college applied business and industry practices to the classes. Due to the intensive nature of the training, students could be dropped if they missed one day of class.
Northrop Grumman representatives would visit the classroom unannounced. Maggie Drake, dean of the college's Technical Education Division, described it as an ongoing job interview, where students learned their appearance and work ethic were being observed by their prospective employer. Northrop Grumman conducted job interviews on campus.
"We instill in them the importance of attendance and dependability -- both strong requirements in the aerospace industry," Drake said. "It's become such a model that our other technical programs are adopting that philosophy."
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.