Technical Education in NV?

Cover Letter for HR246-05

Re: Preferred qualifications and responsibilities:
Manufacturing Technologies Instructor, Job posting HR246-05

In my present position as an “Industrial Maintenance Instructor” I have been instructing and gaining knowledge well outside of my field (I am an Automation, Instrumentation and Control Systems Technician by trade, who has been teaching “maintenance” and “electrical”). While this is like having a brain surgeon setting broken bones, I enjoy the challenge of developing and providing courses vital to the industry in this area. Coming from private (for profit) industry into an academic setting, an additional challenge was learning the intricacies of the teaching profession as well as the organizational procedures of (government funded) public education.

I hold a B.A. in Industrial Arts, plus have had additional courses in the Behavioral Sciences and Education. I am extremely computer literate, and utilize advanced technology to develop and present material. The education received while working on my degree, as well as ongoing training and employment, has given me an extensive background, especially in industrial/vocational subjects. I am current in my field and hold the highest Instrumentation certification (ISA CCST3). In addition, I hold three California Community College Instructor Credentials in this field (Instrument Machine and related technologies; Instrumentation; and Instrument Mechanics). I also hold an FCC commercial license which demonstrates a proficiency in electronics (when the license was issued). While I have not kept pace with advancements in this field, I do have the aptitude to research and expand my knowledge of the subject if necessary.
I have over 13 years of formal training experience, not including part time at a J.C. in California instructing automation & control technicians in an “Instrument Technician Training Program”. Before working for TMCC, I developed and conducted industrial “short courses” for a national training company and still conduct project-based training for them when requested by industry. As a result of literally the thousands of technicians I have trained, I am under consideration by the ISA for hire as a contract instructor (this would put me at the top in my field).

At TMCC, I have designed & built (with student help) all the labs and “demo’s” for the IMT program. This is not an unusual task, as I have “spec’d”, designed, and/or built numerous control & automation systems for industry (from simple controllers to plant-wide automation systems). Outside of the “35 hour workload”, I developed the curriculum for the various short-courses I have offered, and the seven IMT classes I currently teach. With advice and guidance from the staff at Edison, these seven classes were put through the Curriculum Committee and form the basis of the “Industrial Maintenance Technology Option” of the ECT degree. The majority of these IMT classes are available on the web (through WebCT) and, while not an expert (yet) at distance education, I believe I am on the higher end of the learning curve and one of the more advanced instructors using these techniques. As industry does not operate “9 to 5”, web-based, web assisted, and web-hybrid classes are offered to better serve the needs of students and I consider them essential to establishing an effective industrial / vocational program in this area.

I have developed and attempted to implement “multidiscipline” classes to cross train students and to form core components of an industrial degree program. From very humble beginnings (no labs, no classroom, no in-place curriculum) I have continued to offer new classes and seminars to serve students and industry (in the past five years, I have also developed and presented numerous “industry specific” seminars to various local companies). As WNCC does not currently have an instructor to teach IMT type classes, I am offering Industrial Training in the Carson City area (working through MAP & WNCC). Summers are spent holding training seminars for employees from many diverse fields. By means of a grant from Job Corps, I have developed a basic electrical (web-based) course they will be implementing in their training. In the future, I hope to develop further training aids and would like to help other instructors use innovative technology to reach more students. I am also interested in designing and teaching or “co-teaching” subjects that I believe would be of interest to those students who interests lie more toward the “mechanical” arts. I have had, and enjoyed, subjects which have combined history & technology; philosophy & technology; sociology & technology, and I believe courses such as these would attract non-traditional students and help to lead them toward completing a degree program, rather than just taking classes for job advancement.

Having carefully studied the position description, preferred qualifications and responsibilities, this clearly is a high skill position. I possess the industrial background and experience and, after five years with TMCC, have developed a keen awareness of the formalities and procedures required of an instructor.
As all of my IMT classes were mentioned in the original Manufacturing Grant Application, they were considered a necessary part of the new Manufacturing Technologies program. With the added responsibilities and a salary “dependent upon education and experience´ I am confident that I can expand these classes and add additional classes as required to make the Manufacturing Technologies Program and degree a reality. To help keep technical/vocational education a viable option in this area, I wish to be considered for the position.
References available upon request.



Thank You for your time and consideration.

posted by cl @ 11:13 PM