Published 5/9/2019

Gear Manufacturers Association Partners with Chicago College to Establish Training Center

The 10,000-square-foot facility at Richard J. Daley College will have the capacity to train more than 600 students per year, covering a variety of topics, from basic gear making to gear failure analysis.

Workforce Development

Edited by: MMS Editorial Team

The American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) has signed a partnership agreement with Richard J. Daley College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, officially establishing the first AGMA National Training Center. The center will provide engineering and operator-level continuing education for all aspects of gear manufacturing.

The 10,000-square-foot facility will have the capacity to train more than 600 students per year, covering a variety of topics, from basic gear making to gear failure analysis. In addition to those already in the gear industry, students enrolled in the college’s manufacturing or engineering programs will be able to participate in the program.

“The National Training Center and the partnership with Daley College will allow us to achieve a significant education milestone for AGMA,” says AGMA President Matthew E. Croson. “The education of our workforce has been a primary mission of AGMA for decades, and we are recognized for our efforts on a global scale. The AGMA National Training Center at Daley College will enhance our reputation while delivering a world-class facility with the equipment, tools and knowledge transfer that will be required to ensure the gear manufacturing industry has its fair share of skilled labor.”

“AGMA has been in partnership with the Richard J. Daley campus for the past 26 years,” says Casandra Blassingame, VP of education services with the college. “Given the resurgence of the need to educate and train talent for the manufacturing industry, advancing the partnership to establish the AGMA National Training Center in collaboration is a creative and innovative way for industry to connect with education.”

By 2020, the AGMA National Training Center will host the majority of AGMA engineering and operator-level courses from April through November. The remainder of the year, AGMA will rotate courses in other parts of the country to offer a variety of locations. Since 38% of the gear industry supplier base is said to be based in the Chicago area, the training center is expected to significantly reduce travel costs for companies in the local area.