Right now, the 26 students of First Coast Technical College's newest program are learning to read aircraft blueprints, and it won't be until later that they get to do the more interesting stuff.
In a couple of weeks, students in the aircraft fabrication course will rivet, drill holes, apply sealant and assemble bigger parts like fuselage.
If that doesn't sound so exciting either, consider this: By mid-December, they'll have qualified themselves for some of the few $40,000 to $60,000 salaries at jobs employers are filling in a punishing economy.
"They're learning to read (the blueprints) to learn how to build an aircraft," explained Doug Stewart, college vice president and project spearhead. "They will be learning how to physically put together the airframe and the fuselage."
The aircraft fabrication course is designed to make students more attractive to employers like Northrop Grumman and to boost enrollment.
"They're training to become aviation structure mechanics," said instructor Chris Harms, who retired from Grumman. "The primary reason for this course is so the students can get certificates of accomplishment so they can get good jobs ... anywhere from Jacksonville to the Daytona Beach area."
They're not jobs everyone can do, however. Instead, the jobs require intense physical labor, often outside in hot or cold conditions. But they can lead to other jobs higher up the chain, depending on what your aptitude is, Harms said.
"There's always a lot of overtime in this industry," Harms said. "The fall schedule they have, they're always behind. I was in it for 37 years and I worked overtime for 37 years, whether I wanted to or not."
The program, which began a couple of weeks ago, "provides another career opportunity," college President Christine Cothron said. "Hopefully it will increase our enrollment somewhat."
She said the college added the program to its lineup "because there are companies within a reasonable distance within the college that can hire these people as well."
Cothron said St. Augustine High School's Aerospace Academy supplied some students.
"It does," Cothron said. "We have two students in the current class from that academy last year."
A Northrop Grumman executive said the program would produce more candidates for the jobs it expects to create here.
"As our East Coast Manufacturing and Flight Test Center here in St. Augustine ramps up production of the U.S. Navy's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, we look forward to bringing on students from across St. Johns County and the state of Florida who graduate from this program and join our team ...," said Rick Matthews, vice president of production operations for Northrop Grumman.
The program, Matthews said, "is a win-win for our community, our company and our nation."
Grumman currently employs 960 people, making it the largest private industrial employer in St. Johns County, Matthews said.
Cothron said other employers nearby also would likely hire students from the program.
"In addition to Northrop Grumman, there are several in Jacksonville," Cothron said.
The program is 256 hours long and meets four times a week on the FCTC main campus, said Merlene Nelson Thomas, college spokeswoman.
The college expects to begin another class in January, Thomas said.
Harms thinks the program is a good idea.
"If you look at the average age of workers right now, I'd say the average age is 46 or 47 years old," Harms said. "They need to get some young blood in there."
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