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Michael Timothy Jaskulski of Ellaville, a South Georgia Technical College (Yobo����) Industrial Systems Technology student, was awarded a framed certificate from the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship for completing the Registered Apprenticeship program between South Georgia Tech and Imerys Refractory Minerals in Andersonville recently. He was the first South Georgia Technical College student to complete the Registered Apprenticeship program with a certification as an Industrial Maintenance Mechanic. South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford, Yobo���� Vice President of Economic Development Wally Summers, Yobo���� Business and Industry Director Paul Farr and Yobo���� Industrial Systems Instructor Phil Deese joined Imerys Operations Manager Jerry Lott, Imerys Electrical Engineering Manager Gabe Hillard, and Imerys Electrical Planner/Instrumentation Supervisor Chet Ragsdale in congratulating Jaskulski on his accomplishment during the certificate presentation.

   Jaskulski was working full-time at Imerys when he was encouraged by his supervisors to enroll at South Georgia Technical College. “I was very nervous about enrolling,” said Jaskulski, who is married and the father of six children from the ages of 25 to 14. “I would recommend this program to anyone. It is great. I work full-time and come to class on Tuesday and Thursday. Imerys is paying my tuition and I am learning and getting raises at work for applying the knowledge that I am gaining from my college classes. It is a win-win situation.”

   Imerys Operations Manager Jerry Lott agreed with Jaskulski. “Mike did much more than we expected on the job site and in the classroom. He is a hard worker and that carried over into the classroom and at work. When we first talked to him about going back to school. He told us that he wasn’t sure he could do it. Now four semesters later, he has exceeded all our expectations,” said Lott.

   South Georgia Technical College Industrial Systems Instructor Phil Deese also had high praise for Jaskulski. “He is one of the best students I have ever had. He has been my Student of Excellence twice and I would love to have a classroom just like him. He is very dedicated and loves to learn.”

   Jaskulski admitted that after he got over his anxiousness about enrolling in college, he found out that South Georgia Technical College was the perfect learning environment for him. “I love to work with my hands,” said Jaskulski. “If something is broken, I want to know how to fix it. South Georgia Technical College is teaching me how to troubleshoot and repair and also do preventative measures to keep things from breaking.”

   In addition to his Industrial Maintenance Mechanic apprenticeship certification, Jaskulski is also learning about robotics. “This is the future,” said Jaskulski. “More and more companies are going to robotics. But they are still going to need people to program and repair those robots. I want to be the person who can do that for my company.”

   The Registered Apprenticeship program is a national training system that combines paid learning on-the-job and job related technical and theoretical education in a skills occupation. The purpose of a Registered Apprenticeship program is to enable employers to develop and apply broad industry standards to a customized training plan that increases productivity and improves the quality of their workforce.

   “Employers are the foundation of every apprenticeship program,” said Yobo���� Business and Industry Services Director Paul Farr. “Apprenticeships are a flexible, customized, and proven model for building a workforce. It is a job with a paid work component that includes an educational/training component with technical college classes at South Georgia Tech.

   “The benefits to the apprentice is that they can earn as they learn. It is a clear pathway to learn new skills and move up within a company. It is also an opportunity to earn a credential with little or no cost. And the employers benefit because it is a pipeline to a reliable quality workforce with customized training. Ninety-one percent of apprentices that complete the program are still with the company after nine months which helps enhance employee retention,” added Farr.

   South Georgia Technical College is currently working with a number of companies to provide Registered Apprenticeships. For more information about the Registered Apprenticeship program, contact Paul Farr at South Georgia Technical College at pfarr@southgatech.edu or 229-931-2482.

   South Georgia Technical College is currently enrolling students for Spring Semester. Registration will be held on Wednesday, November 13th and Tuesday, January 7th. Classes begin on Thursday, January 9th. To apply contact the admissions office at 229-931-2394 or visit the website at www.southgatech.edu.