Aerospace-training center opens with ceremony

In a Paine Field building that had been scheduled for demolition, a new center to train the next generation of aerospace workers was dedicated Thursday in Everett.

Its initial enrollment is 10 students, but the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center was hailed by a host of political, business and education leaders as an important partnership to produce a skilled work force and ensure that aerospace jobs stay in the state.

More than $6 million in federal, state, local and private funds were raised over the past year to open the center and a sister training center in Spokane scheduled to open next fall.

Gov. Chris Gregoire told a crowd of about 100 people that Washington faced two challenges to its dominance in the aerospace industry: to replace aging workers and make sure new and experienced workers have cutting-edge skills.

One reason Boeing gave for locating its second assembly line in South Carolina last year was the state's failure to step up training efforts. Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon reacted by calling for creation of the statewide training center, to support not only Boeing but the estimated 650 aerospace suppliers in the state.

Snohomish County donated the building, a former manufacturing facility that has been renovated to add computer labs, training facilities and classroom space.

The center's goal is to provide fast, job-specific training that will allow students to move immediately into entry-level aerospace jobs.

The first enrollees will earn an Aerospace Manufacturing Certificate in three-and-a-half weeks.

A second Assembly Mechanic Certificate can be completed in seven-and-a-half weeks. The certificates will be awarded through Edmonds Community College.

Over the following months, courses will be added in electrical hydraulics, functional tests and quality assurance, said Larry Cluphf operations director at the aerospace training center.

Although just 10 students are signed up for the first program that starts next week, Cluphf anticipates that about 230 students in three daily shifts will graduate each month by the end of the year.

"The hope is that all will find jobs," he said.

Several Boeing executives were on hand for the dedication. Norma Clayton, Boeing vice president for training and development based in St. Louis, said the center can become "an important pipeline for critical talent to support the aerospace industry."

Boeing donated $2.5 million in tools and materials for the center, but doesn't promise jobs to its graduates.

For Boeing's plants in North Charleston, the state offered new hires six to eight weeks training at the nearby Trident Technical College, with classes geared specifically to Boeing's needs.

South Carolina advertises that it will provide new businesses entering the state help with recruiting and training a work force "at little or no cost."

Last fall, at the time when Boeing was making its decision to choose South Carolina for the second 787 assembly line, Trident had several hundred trainees who were destined for the Boeing plant upon graduation.

John Theisen, president and CEO of Orion Manufacturing, a Boeing supplier based in Federal Way, said there's definitely a market for specialized aerospace skills, with some workers moving into jobs with starting pay of between $18 and $20.

He said Washington can remain dominant in aerospace even as the supply chain goes global.

"But we can only do so by remaining a center of excellence," he said.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com