MCC Instructor and Advisory Council Member Wins ASQ Trowbridge Award
MANCHESTER, Conn. (October 18, 2017) – Manchester Community College Precision Manufacturing Instructor Dennis Gareau is the winner of this year’s Joseph Trowbridge Quality Recognition Award. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) award recognizes individuals or teams who have made significant improvements in quality and productivity in their workplace over the past year. Gareau has been an ASQ member since 1982.
He was honored by the ASQ Hartford section for the key role he played in identifying local employers’ workforce needs and helping to establish MCC’s very successful manufacturing program. Gareau’s decades of manufacturing experience, which includes 28 years at East Harford-based Pratt & Whitney and Manchester-based Gunver Manufacturing, as well as an affiliation with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, were instrumental in anticipating workforce needs and designing a relevant curriculum.
“In the early days of the MCC program, I was recruited by the Continuing Education division to join the advisory council,” Gareau said. “The manufacturing workforce was aging at that time, and the college was working on a program to fill a gap created as the union apprenticeship programs were disappearing. I was one of several people polling local companies to determine what skills they needed.”
Manufacturing as an employment sector has come a long way and the skill level needed by employers is more advanced than ever. Gareau still serves on the advisory board to ensure curriculum remains in sync with local needs.
Precision Manufacturing is a 24-week, credit-bearing certificate program with a graduation rate of 98 percent and a 100 percent employment rate. Gareau teaches blueprint reading and measurement courses for this program. In addition, he also works with the Continuing Education division’s Corporate and Community Training Center (CTCC) where he has also taught blueprint reading and measurement for a 12-week pre-manufacturing program that served formerly incarcerated individuals, known as the Second Chance Program funded by the Governors Best Chance Grant. Gareau also provides custom training through the CCTC on these topics to clients that include ACMT, Belcan, Capewell Components, Habco and Sadlak Manufacturing.
About the Precision Manufacturing Program – Upon completion of the 24-week Precision Manufacturing program, students will have earned a Precision Manufacturing Program certificate, up to 34 credits toward an associate in science degree in machine technology, along with a solid foundation for employment as an entry-level Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine operator. After completion of the associate degree, students can also transfer to Central Connecticut State University for the bachelor of science in technology management. Through a combination of hands-on manual and CNC machine operation, as well as industry-relevant classroom material, graduates are equipped to enter the exciting career field of CNC Machine Operators.
