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Union training counts toward college degree
December 15, 2009
By Dave Moran
Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — When Jakob Parks, an apprentice in the International Union of Operating Engineers, completes Local 478’s four-year training program, he will not just graduate to journeyman status but will be eligible to receive up to 37 college credits, which he hopes to apply toward a college degree.
“I would like to be able to advance myself past the point I am now,” said Parks, a third year apprentice, at the union’s training facility on Cheshire Road in Meriden. “I enjoy working on the floor. I enjoy working as a mechanic, but with a degree that would allow me the opportunity to someday move into a managerial position.”
That is just what the union, the state’s largest supplier of trained mechanics, heavy equipment operators and support personnel, was hoping to achieve when it approached Charter Oak State College and asked it to analyze its heavy equipment mechanic apprenticeship program earlier this year.
Charter Oak, a public college based in New Britain, has devised a curriculum that offers “degrees without boundaries” through its Credit Assessment Program, an initiative that grants college credit for learning done outside of typical classrooms.
“We’ve had this program for years and years, but it’s the first time that we’ve ever evaluated union training like this,” said Maryanne Le Grow, the college’s assessment coordinator. “We offer this program, and any non-collegiate organization that does training and education can come to us and request a review. The union apparently learned about us from someone. I’m not sure how they learned about it, but they made that request.”
When Le Grow assessed the apprenticeship program, she found that it went “above and beyond” the college’s requirements to grant credit. Union members who complete three years of instruction can earn up to 37 credits.
“It’s a substantial amount,” Le Grow said. “That’s probably half of an associate degree (which takes 60 credits). This can factor into a bachelor’s degree as well, because these all count as basic-level courses.”
Although Charter Oak only recently completed its assessment of the union’s curriculum, the school has agreed to retroactively apply the credits for any union member who has completed three years of the training program in the past five years.
Alan Bergstrom, an instructor in the program, said the union decided to approach Charter Oak for the assessment because of the substantial amount of time required to complete the training.
“The reason why we did this is because we work with industry leaders and employers to develop a state-sponsored mechanic apprenticeship,” Bergstrom said. “But a lot of individuals who go through the program have to give up on possible college courses to do because it’s so time consuming.”
Bergstrom said 8,000 hours must be logged for an apprentice to advance to journeyman status — 6,800 on the job and 1,200 in the union’s training courses. Someone with journeyman status is qualified to walk onto any work site in the state that uses heavy equipment and serve as a mechanic, Bergstrom said.
“The employers will work with us and we’ll work with them on a very close basis,” he said. “If they’re needed on the job, they’re on the job; then they train with us on a nights and- weekend basis.”
Ben Cozzi, Local 478’s president, said the union plans to have more of its training programs assessed for credit through Charter Oak.
dmoran@record-journal.com (203) 317-2224
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