We have the technology

MATTHEW REZAB

Globe Gazette

North Iowa Area Community College electronics technology instructor Bob Franken has found his niche after losing his job when Eaton Corporation closed its Belmond location in June

2019

He now teaches almost 40 students in NIACC’s NextGen Technician program how to code industrial machinery especially robotics

“We’ve kind of designed this program around using the same skillset that him (industrial maintenance instructor Brian Mason) and I used to be successful at Eaton,”Franken said “I wrote, built and designed the machines and the systems and troubleshot them.”

Students know if they complete the program there willbeajobouttherewaiting because of the high demand for their skills Most of the studentssaidthesamething about why they decided to apply to the industrial systems technology program “Forme,it’sthehands-on experience,” said student John Brandt.

Students are expected to be in the classroom or lab at 7:30 a m each day and usually work until about 2:30 p.m inside the Buettner Careers Building. In some cases students are allowed to work ahead and leave early Students enrolled in this course should expect to spend 75-90 hours (five to six hours per week) in the Industrial Systems Technology Lab and one hour of lecture to complete the course, according to the online description.

Student Ethan Beals said he didn’t want to take a lot more math classes and decided to sign up because his father completed a similar program a few years ago and now works on x-ray and other medical equipment. He said he plans to do something similar when he graduates Brandt plans to take another route and move on to the University of Northern Iowa to pursue an engineering degree.

Franken said demand for jobs in the field is high. He had five students quit after the first year to take fulltime jobs His students end up making more money than 75% of people with four-year degrees One of his former students is making $200,000 per year right out of school.

“My advice would be to sign up,because it’s starting to get very popular,” Franken said. “If you sign up for our class and you take our program and treat it like a job, in two years you’ll have a career that nobody will ever be able to take away from you.”

Bill Freerks and Phil Smidt, both former Eaton Corporation employees, were working on coding a roboticarmtodrawaperfect circle inside a square it had already drawn It was going well, but not perfectly “We’re just tweaking the program until we get it right,” Freerks said.

MATTHEW REZAB Globe Gazette

Dwight Schwickerath may no longer be dating a plumber’s daughter, but he’s still reaping rewards from the relationship

“I used to date a plumber’s daughter and her older brother went here and absolutelylovedtheprogram,”he said of heating/ventilation/ air conditioning classes at North Iowa Area Community College “It’s one of the best programs around”

Schwickerath and his 25 fellow students are taught by instructor Jason Ott. Ott was a 1996 graduate from NIACC’s HVAC program before returning to teach in 2007 Ott said he likes to focus on specific aspects of the HVAC world in each of the four semesters required for graduation.

“First year, first semester we start with safety, and we get into wiring,” Ott said. “Then we get into actually looking at the furnaces tearing into the furnaces, how airflow works, how we produce heat, and then we troubleshoot.”

The next three semesters are kind of a rinse and repeat method, simply changing up the type of HVAC systems being studied.

“First year is really focused on residential and then second year they come back and I get into commercial heating and controls” Ott said. “That’s where we get into the computer side. We get into programming.

From anywhere in the world you have internet access and the software you can see pieces of equipment.”

Ott said becoming a field technician is probably the most popular career for graduates, but the number of jobs students can vie for is plentiful. He pointed out jobs such as boiler operator, controls technician, building supervisor and more.

Nate Schindelar, a second-year student from Charles City, said his current employer, Mills Inc., sent him into the program.

“The company I work for in Charles City wants to get me licensed, so you have to get two years (coursework) for that,” he said.

Schindelar praised Ott for his experience and personal touch with the students,but said taking time off from work is the most challenging thing for him.

Ott said finding a job after graduation is not a problem The field is growing, and it can be difficult for employers to find replacements for retirees Each student begins as an apprentice and can become a journeyman and eventually a master through state testing.

Ott said an aspect of the program he loves to promote is that graduates can change from one aspect of HVAC to another without having to return to school or complete more training

“They realize this is a trade with many freedoms and they don’t have to go to the same place and do the same thing over and over,” He said. “As long as the work got done, customers were happy and there wasn’t a lot of call backs they left me alone.”

He added that many technicians work out their home and never have to go into the office. Technicians are dispatched to job sites to fix or install furnaces air conditioners or troubleshoot other problems

NIACC’s program also gives credit for internships

“I’ll work with anyone I can,” Ott said. “Anybody who’s willing to work with us Students are required to find that so they get some hands-on experience.”

On top of real-world experience, Ott said, internships create avenues for students to get jobs in the future while also solidifying what their doing at school.

Students have taken many routes to Ott’s program. He said he’s taught everyonefromage18totheir 60s Layoffs often boost the number of students Student Matt Seberson from Waseca, Minn., was trying to figure out what he wanted to do when he found NIACC’s program.

“I was looking around at four-year programs up there with my recruitment for track and didn’t see anything I wanted to do, so I started looking at the trades,” Seberson said.

He plans to be a commercial technician after graduation this spring.

Student Caleb Rasch from Bancroft wants to become a technician He came into the program a more traditional way “I just came and visited,” hesaid “Ididn’treallyknow what I wanted to do I saw the lab and really liked it”

All the students said get- ting a chance to work in a hands-on field was integral to joining up Ad far as advice for anyone considering applying for the program, Ott said potential students shouldn’t be worried if they don’t have a mechanical background and not to be nervous they won’t be able to do the work.

“Some of my most successful students will tell me their mechanical aptitude before this program was putting Legos together,” Ott said.

Frankensaidgraduatescan find jobs all over the place Popular paths include wind turbinetechnician,mechanical repair technician, X-ray technician and more

“There’s just a lot of different technologies,” Franken said “That’s why the guys are so sought after they get out of here because there’s so many jobs”

NIACC’s program was given a boost when it earned a $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation According to its website, NIACC has expanded robotics education through two projects: NextGen

Technicians: Addressing IndustryDemandforRobotics,andAdvancingNextGen Technicians

Students enrolled in that course should expect to spend 75-90 hours (5-6 hours per week) in the IndustrialSystemsTechnology Lab and one hour of lecture to complete the course

FrankensaidNIACC’sIST program is more streamlined than many others in the state

“If you went to Hawkeye Tech you’d have to take six programstogetwhatyouget here,” he said “They piecemeal it into a lot of different segments versus our IST guys get it in two years

Franken said he uses 57 software packages to teach the courses, but uses four primarily FANUC, Allen-Bradley, Kawasaki and Universal are the most common teaching tools Kawasaki donated a $150,000 piece of equipment know as a CX robot

Franken said teaching coding on the different machines may call for small tweaks,butforthemostpart coding is coding

“If you have a Ford or Chevy you can probably drive someone else’s car Coding is the same way in a sense,” he said The program will be changing its name to industrial automation and robotics technology

“Nowwewanttohighlight the fact that we have a ton of automation robotics in the program,” Franken said

He said the change to using buzz words like automation and robotics will attract new students, but they’ll still be teaching the same lessons about testing equipment, trouble shooting instrumentation and diagnostics

New name or not, one thing will remain constant, and that’s Franken’s guiding presence When talking about his favorite part of the program Brandt made it quick and easy

“My favorite thing is probably Bob,” he joked

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