Photo courtesy of CoorsTek
Soon local residents will be able to train for a technical career by taking courses directly from the employer. CoorsTek in Benton, Arkansas will partner with local schools and government to accomplish this. The nationwide company is expanding its innovative onboarding and training initiative called the CoorsTek Academy. It has already been in operation at their headquarters in Golden, Colorado.
CoorsTek will celebrate the expansion at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, February 7, from 11:00 a.m. to noon with employees, elected officials, and partners in education and careers. The CoorsTek Academy is a new training program created by the company to accelerate the productivity of new talent, advance technical skill development and build an environment of continuous learning and growth.
The Academy focuses on the development of advanced technical skills for new and current employees. Their partnership with technical schools and local governments will create cutting-edge curriculum and build the technical skill sets needed by operations team members. Employees will train in an immersive one-week cultural onboarding experience with job shadowing, mentorship, skill development and career pathing.
The Academy launched in 2022 to help manage the extensive hiring and training needs during a tight labor market and business ramp. The pilot program was such a success that CoorsTek launched a smaller version of the program in Grand Junction, CO, so they will now expand to Benton and other growth facilities around the globe.
“Our mission for CoorsTek Academy is to develop a best-in-class manufacturing workforce by investing in the right tools, training, and development opportunities to grow our people,” said CoorsTek Chief People Officer Irma Lockridge. “We are excited to expand this opportunity to our Benton facility and provide continued growth for our company, our industry, and the local community.”
In Benton, the grand opening of the CoorsTek Academy will mark another milestone for the company’s continued dedication to the local manufacturing industry by adding jobs and career path training. In recent years, CoorsTek has added 60 new manufacturing jobs and has made an $80M investment commitment to the facility, including an expansion to its armor and defense production and most recently a state-of the art powder production facility that broke ground in the spring.
Employees who participate in the Academy receive world-class instruction from dedicated trainers and mentors who are familiar with the world of technical ceramics manufacturing. Participants are exposed to a variety of technical career paths within the company, with an overall intent to drive engaging career development and help build skill sets relevant to the future of the company.
“We are giving people the opportunity to see the big picture of the company, a lot of the technology that goes into our process from start to finish, the supply chain, and how the products are making people’s lives better. They realize they are part of something bigger,” said Aaron Erkman, a technical trainer in the Benton CoorsTek facility.