Industry News
Nation's Oldest Community College Has Long History of Teaching Safety
From the moment community colleges started preparing people for jobs in industry,
safety has been a priority. Community colleges have not only offered independent
courses on safety, they have incorporated safety into all of their technical programs.
Back in the late 90s, for example, Joliet Junior College (JJC) began working with
leaders in the petrochemical industry to design a training program to replace retiring
chemical process operators.
"We were getting requests from companies such as Citgo, ExxonMobil, and others
to help them hire and train new operators," said Bruce Kuzmanich, contract training
manger for JJC's Corporate and Community Services (CCS) division. "It led to a training
program that we offer to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the petro-chemical
industry. A lot of that training includes safety and OSHA guidelines which is typical
of every industry-related program we deliver. We always make OSHA and safety training
part of every technical program we offer."
While safety is part of every industry-related program offered by JJC, there are
many courses available that focus entirely on safety. For example, JJC offers a
10-Hour OSHA Voluntary Compliance Course that gives workers on overview of OSHA
standards and a better understanding of OSHA's role in industry.
In the electrical field, JJC offers NFPA 70E safety training that can be customized
to meet site-specific needs. "We have a mobile technical trailer packed with all
the electrical equipment needed to bring NFPA 70E and other technical courses to
any company anywhere in our district," said Kuzmanich. "This allows us to tailor
the training to our client's needs while making it convenient for them to take these
classes."
JJC has a large geographic area to cover in its district. For that reason, a mobile
trailer is a real benefit to clients who are not close to any of the school's campuses.
"The mobile technical trailer has allowed us to deliver training in electrical,
mechanical, maintenance, and safety to companies that would normally be unable to
come to one of our campuses," said Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community
Services for JJC. "That means that we can deliver safety classes to more people."
Gerald Raino is a Technology professor for JJC and teaches a large number of safety
courses for business and industry. "It would be safe to say that about half of all
the courses I teach is a safety or OSHA class," said Raino. "That is true for both
classroom and on-site courses." Besides safety, Raino teaches courses on pumps,
valves, programmable logic, and electricity.
Another way JJC promotes safety training is through its membership in local associations
dedicated to teaching OSHA and safety classes to industry. One of those organizations
is the Three Rivers Manufacturing Association which is a non-profit group that promotes
safety in all industries. This partnership has resulted in mutual support for a
variety of training programs delivered by both Three Rivers and Joliet Junior College.
"This association with Three Rivers keeps us a little ahead of the curve when it
comes to the kind of training we need to offer," said Murphy. "For example, a major
concern today is crane safety. In a one week period last July, there were three
deaths and six serious injuries connected to crane accidents. Because we are members
of Three Rivers, we are very close to the construction industry and recognized early
that crane safety is an issue. For that reason, we have been offering courses in
crane operation and safety for the last three years."
The commitment to safety training is very real at Joliet Junior College. "These
are courses that are much in demand," said Raino. "They are the most important part
of any technical subject we teach."
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