Wisconsin's aviation industry resurgence.

From its inception, the idea for the Fox Valley Technical College Aviation Center in Oshkosh, Wis., "just made sense" for everyone involved. The project has been cited as a "textbook example" of cooperation between government, education and the community. It has also been called "one of the most natural" as far as economic development projects are concerned.

For a long time, community leaders in the city of Oshkosh and in Winnebago County felt that an opportunity existed to capitalize on the presence of the Experimental Aircraft Association, which was headquartered within the community. They began to talk about the concept of an aviation industrial park.

"When we looked at what ingredients were necessary to make an aviation industrial park successful, one of the keys was experienced, trained people," Rick Sokol, Wittman Regional Airport director, said. "There is a significant demand in the fast-paced aviation industry to keep existing employees up-to-date. We had the physical resources and quality business environment to make an aviation park succeed, but there was no nearby outlet to train people and keep them up-to-date. The development of the aviation center was a natural."

Initial feasibility studies were undertaken which revealed that many of the current airframe and power plant mechanics and avionics technicians had been trained during World War II and were reaching retirement age. In the short term, there was going to be a demand for skilled workers to replace them. Studies also revealed predicted growth in the aviation industry over the long term, despite a current industry-wide shakeout.

HELP FOR A GROWING INDUSTRY

"We qualified KC Aviation, Basler Turbo Conversions and Midwest Express and showed that in Wisconsin alone, aviation businesses were going through a growth curve," Tim Casey, director of economic development for Milwaukee County and then-director of Chamco, Inc., Oshkosh's industrial development corporation, said. "When we pulled the numbers and data together, there was really a compelling case being made."

Locating the aviation center in the Oshkosh Aviation Industrial Park would have many advantages. The adjacent airport would provide ample parking for aircraft. Business people coming to the school for training could taxi right up to the door. Aeronautics-pilot students could leave the classroom, file their flight plans and take right off. Aviation-related businesses in the park would provide internship opportunities. The presence of the EAA would be an added bonus. The association's world-renowned annual convention would provide exposure to one of the world's largest air shows and over 15,000 aircraft that flew in for the event each year. The organization also maintained an extensive aviation library and museum. The Oshkosh setting would virtually be a "living laboratory" for aviation students, providing many learning opportunities.

Sokol and staff members of Chamco, Inc. decided to initiate the aviation center project. They secured the support of the county, then approached FVTC President Stan Spanbauer and FVTC Oshkosh Campus Administrator Catherine Zimmerman with the idea.

FVTC was a natural choice because of its outstanding reputation in turning out quality graduates and meeting the needs of industry. FVTC is the site of one of six IBM Computer Integrated Manufacturing Training Centers in the United States. It is also a regional and national training center for several other organizations including PageMaker, AutoCAD, and Ventura.

The college secured state approval to develop the aviation center and worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop the curriculum.

THE FINAL STEP: FINANCING

The final step in developing the project was securing the financing. Everyone wanted the project, but independently, it would be difficult to finance. According to Gary Yakes, Chamco board member, "It was a matter of bringing everyone to the table and finding out what they were willing to contribute. Everyone had their own financial constraints in getting the center built, but by pooling all of our resources we were able to do it. It was a case study in community cooperation." The project was facilitated by Chamco, which acted as the agent, and financed jointly by Oshkosh, Winnebago County, FVTC and private contributions. The financing was also supplemented by a grant from the state of Wisconsin.

"Of all the projects that I've been involved with in Oshkosh, this one has seemed the most natural," Sokol said. "It has been the easiest to bring together because everyone wanted it to happen." The entire process from the initial idea to final approval took only two years.

In June of 1991, the aeronautics-pilot training program was begun. The airframe/power plant mechanic program was begun in January of 1992. The students in this program attended class daily, year-round, in order to graduate by July of 1993.

In September of 1992, the avionics program was begun. The center also offers a program in electromechanical technology, which, though it is not specifically aviation-related, shares a lot of staff, curriculum, equipment and materials with the avionics program.

In keeping with FVTC's tradition of maintaining strong ties to the business community, one third of the aviation center has been set aside to support business and industry training. The facilities at the aviation center offer special flexibility and services not available elsewhere in the community.

A COMMUNITY RESOURCE

"One of the reasons the community supported this project so strongly is that they saw the FVTC as a real resource," Zimmerman said. "We are part of the lure to bring businesses to the area. What we have available to these businesses is skilled labor plus facilities for conferencing and networking. We have facilities with down-link satellite hook-ups, food service, and conference rooms in a variety of sizes. People can fly in for meetings and taxi right up to the door. We are planning an aviation-related technical library that companies will be able to use."

"A company that comes here will have a whole host of needs," Zimmerman continued. "They won't just need airframe/power plant mechanics. They'll also need secretaries and accountants. They might need management training or desktop publishing. The FVTC can bring all of its resources to bear on these situations. We can add value to what these businesses are doing."

Some of these resources include consultant services with experts in computers, CAD/CAM robotics, supervisory training and other fields; industrial testing programs to aid in the selection of candidates and to identify the training needs of existing employees; a Quality/Productivity Resource Center which provides the latest resources and educational programs to assist businesses in their efforts to improve quality and productivity; and customized, contractual training services.

Providing these services to business helps FVTC ensure quality training for its students. "It's just one of a whole host of links," Zimmerman said. "When we do business training, we can see where they're headed and adjust our curriculum accordingly."

CLOSE BUSINESS CONNECTIONS

FVTC also maintains business advisory committees to help it keep up-to-date on trends and technology. The advisory committees aid in the selection of the faculty, who must have a minimum of two years of experience in the field outside of teaching.

Perhaps the most important link of all, however, the one that keeps FVTC on the cutting edge, is its guaranteed training program. Any graduate who cannot find a job within six months of graduation may come back for up to six free credits of additional training or other services.

There is a system in place through which the college follows up with both graduates and their employers, making sure that their alumni have all of the skills necessary to do their jobs.

Zimmerman and Dan Kilpatrick, associate dean of technical education for the aviation center, believe that it is this quality guarantee that is responsible for the high 90 percent placement rate for the FVTC as a whole. Since the guarantee was instated, only a few students have come back. Their job-finding problems were not skill-related, however. Some needed better resumes; others weren't applying for jobs or weren't being realistic about salary and location. The college was able to help them repackage themselves and find work.

"No one has come back yet for skills training," Zimmerman said. "It just doesn't happen."

"Much of the reason for that," Kilpatrick added, "comes from our own internal training. Everyone knows that we are going to provide for anyone who comes back and this ensures a high level of teaching. It's a way of life. It's a part of our internal culture."

The contracted training services to businesses are guaranteed as well. If FVTC training services do not meet a business's requirements they can have the services redone at no charge.

This guaranteed-training philosophy of the FVTC, along with its strong ties to business have given the college a quality reputation. The reputation is so strong in fact, that some businesses are already waiting for the aviation center graduates.

Tom Weigt, president of Basler Turbo Conversions, a business located in the Oshkosh Aviation Industrial Park, believes that, in the long term, the aviation center will become a source for his company's work force. "We haven't gotten any (mechanics) from there yet...but we will," he said. "We expect that that's going to be a real close relationship for us."

These types of relationships were just what the aviation center's founders were counting on when they initiated the project.

Jerry Bougie is the coordinator of the Winnebago County Industrial Development Board, which assists communities in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in expanding their tax base and creating jobs. The board also promotes awareness of Winnebago County regionally, nationally and internationally as a good place to do business.