Tennessee Technology Center Caters to Local Industry and Job Seekers
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The Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville specializes in hands-on training, and the school’s computer-aided design technology program is a prime example.
Students enrolled in this popular program use computer-aided drafting systems to prepare three-dimensional technical drawings – detailed drawings used to build everything from machine parts to houses. Students can finish the program in about 20 months and go straight into a job, generally making from $11 to $15 an hour to start.
“We try to make this as realistic a work environment as possible,” says Drew Renegar, drafting and CAD technology instructor. “If a student is not interested in going to a four-year school, this program allows you to get trained quickly and be working in 16-20 months.”
The program offers two majors – mechanical drafting and architectural drafting – and averages about 15-20 students each semester. Those who are mechanically inclined, creative and detail-oriented are the best fit for this type of work, Renegar says.
After some intensive training, students are ready to fill the gap between engineers and manufacturers.
“Engineers come up with ideas, and CAD people draw it and make technical specifications,” says Renegar, who has about 20 years’ experience in the field. “In the case of a tool or a part for a machine, the draftsmen we train fill the role between the shop people and engineers.”
The TTCS program has an advisory committee of industry executives that meets twice a year and lets the school know what it’s looking for in graduates.
“We follow a state curriculum and tailor training to industry in the area,” Renegar says. One focus is making sure students are proficient in the software that’s actually used by local industry. Software packages currently used are AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks and Revit Architecture.
Renegar’s students have found jobs in all facets of industry – from drafting wind-tunnel designs in Tullahoma to drafting drill bits for a mining company. Many graduates find work at the Arnold Engineering Development Center, a large complex of flight simulation test facilities at the nearby Arnold Air Force Base.
The program has a completion rate of 84 percent and a placement rate of 73 percent, says Ron Boyd, student services coordinator for the school.
In 2008, the school is planning to get a $20,000 rapid prototype printer – a machine that will turn students’ drawings into three-dimensional prototypes within five or six hours.
“It’s going to be pretty neat when we get it,” Renegar says. “If we draw it in the computer, within five to six hours we can have a model that we can hold in our hands.”
Story by Rebecca Denton
Photo by Jeffrey Otto
