WIN Mobile Training Unit @ NNMC

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) is pleased to host the unveiling of the UA Local 412 Plumbers and Pipefitters and Northern New Mexico Workforce Integration Network (WIN) Mobile Training Unit from 1 – 3:30 p.m. November 28, 2023. The public is invited to come tour this innovative mobile classroom and see the first class of students actively involved with hands-on training, demonstrations of class materials and activities and enjoy networking opportunities with industry professionals.

“The WIN Mobile Unit is yet another example of Northern's commitment to creating career pathways for people in our communities across Northern New Mexico, and we are excited to launch this innovative initiative to meet students where they are and support their success," said NNMC President Hector Balderas. "With strengthened partnerships like ours with Union 412, and our faculty's dedication to making Northern the premier educational destination for career technical trades, we look forward to growing even more opportunities for students to find the careers they want right here at home."

Speakers at the launch will include Sarita Nair, Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, Raymond Boyd, National Director of Education & Training for the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA), Monica Abeita, Executive Director of the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District and NNMC President Hector Balderas. State Treasurer Laura Montoya, State Rep. Joseph Sanchez (D – District 40) and State Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D – District 28) will be in attendance.

The WIN Mobile Training Unit, owned and operated by UA Local 412, is designed to bring training opportunities in the skilled trades to Northern New Mexico, with a focus on apprenticeship readiness and full-time employment. It will travel around seven North-Central New Mexico counties (Colfax, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Santa Fe and Taos) for the next two years, bringing Skilled Trades Camps directly to rural and tribal communities.

The handicap-accessible 38-foot Winnebago can seat 10 students, who will participate in three-week, 120-hour Skilled Trade Camps. The first camp will provide certifications in (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) OSHA 10, CPR/First Aid, Ladder Training, Confined Space Training, Lock Out Tag Out and Sexual Harassment Training. In addition to the certifications, the coursework includes hands-on activities such as soldering and rigging and the use of virtual reality goggles to practice job skills like trenching and welding. The camps are designed to prepare participants for direct entry into 13 different trades unions.

Upcoming Skilled Trade Camps throughout the North-Central region will be similarly structured, but specific training will be adjusted based on a community needs assessment. The assessment will also determine whether the unit remains onsite three or six weeks. Journeyman test preparation will also be offered to communities in need of it.

“We’re excited to see what this can bring to rural and tribal communities of the region. We have a lot of resources in the metro areas, but we’re able to take this first ever of its kind mobile classroom and meet people where they’re at,” said Joan Baker, Local 412 Director of Outreach & Grants Manager. “The North-Central region is vast and rural and we need to let those smaller communities know that we are here and that there is opportunity for them.”

The WIN mobile unit is one element of the WIN (https://www.nnm-win.com/;  https://www.facebook.com/nnm.WIN) grant awarded to the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, the Regional Development Corporation and Santa Fe Community College through the $6.4 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). NNMC, Luna Community College, UNM-Los Alamos and UNM-Taos are offering training, certification and degree programs for WIN participants. The grant’s objective is to transform and diversify the regional economy by building a robust workforce in the key areas of healthcare and skilled trades, leading to increased equity and more high-paying jobs.

WIN is open to unemployed or underemployed adults or adults looking to skill up and get a good paying job with benefits.  With the help of navigators, the WIN program provides wraparound services to remove obstacles to participants completing certification, which can range from helping participants find childcare or providing gas cards to help them get to class to introducing them to the registrar’s office so they can enroll in classes. The program is also developing industry partners to ensure participants have options for high-paying jobs upon completion.

Northern began offering WIN classes in Fall 2023 with an OSHA 10 certification class (part of the Electrical Trades certification). Additional electrical classes may be offered during the second 8-week term Spring Semester.  A Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) class will be offered Spring semester (second 8-week term). For information on registering for the classes, contact Adult Education Director Cecilia Romero at 505-747-2198. For information about the programs, contact Technical Trades Chair Frank Loera at 575-581-4108 or Nursing and Health Sciences Chair Ellen Trabka at 505-747-2209.

UA Local 412 and NNMC have been collaborating on additional ways to support instruction and increase plumbing and pipefitting career opportunities for New Mexico communities.  They recently agreed to establish a joint educational venture and articulation agreement to offer an Associate’s Degree and a Certificate Program in Technical Trades (Plumbing) to participants of the UA Local 412 Apprenticeship Program. As part of this educational collaboration, UA Local 412 has agreed to make strategic investments in equipment, facilities renovations and other campus infrastructure improvements at Northern to benefit programs served by the educational collaborative. Pres. Balderas and UA Local 412 Business Manager Courtenay Eichhorst will sign the MOU during the launch.