The newly formed Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America Jewelry Academy at the Community College of Rhode Island will begin training workers later this year and will eventually offer an associate’s degree program in jewelry manufacturing – something manufacturers say is desperately needed.
The industry is hopeful the program will attract new workers to the industry.
“Our industry is getting old and if we want the industry to continue to flourish, we need to find young people who see it as an opportunity,” said Curtis Ley, president and CEO of East Providence-based B.A. Ballou & Company and chairman of the jewelers trade group. “With the onslaught of technology, a lot of young people don’t look at this as exciting.”
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Manufacturers like B.A. Ballou’s Ley, a 34-year veteran, are counting on the community college to attract new blood in the form of incoming and existing students.
“Our ultimate goal is to create an accredited associate’s degree in jewelry that could be duplicated in other community colleges around the country,” said Suzanne Mascena, director of education for the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, based in Providence. “Our goal is to upgrade work force training and offer the general public an intro into a jewelry degree.”
The industry trade group has hired Teresa Shannon, who developed the curriculum at Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology, to help form the curriculum. Two or three years from the beginning of enrollment – late fall this year or early next year – the academy will offer an associate’s degree.
Until then, participants can take four certificate courses in soldering and brazing (joining metals); polishing and mass finishing; electroplate training; and basic principles for a collaborative workplace.
Six manufacturers will serve as charter members and will help create the curriculum. These companies – B.A. Ballou; C & J Jewelry Co. Inc. in Providence; E.A. Dion Inc. in Attleboro; Herff Jones in Providence; Stuller Inc. in Lafayette, La.; and Swarovski North America in Cranston – will also put their workers through the program.
With the average age of jewelry manufacturers on the rise, there is a great push from the industry to attract the next generation of workers. A major marketing campaign will hopefully do that, said Bob Delaney, director of project development for CCRI’s Division of Lifelong Learning.
“When you look at work force training, it’s only a small portion of what we do” at CCRI, he said. “There are a large portion of students coming to CCRI who are not sure of what they want to do; some are going back to school, some are working and going to school and they’re all looking for opportunities.
“Because of our partnership with these companies, it’s possible that two times a year they can put on a job fair or CCRI can do exhibitions,” Delaney added. “We can begin to offer students opportunities to take these classes, and some students looking for a direction” might take them.
Delaney estimated that about 30 percent of the students at the community college don’t know what they want to do or are looking for a career change, “so if we can convince 5 percent, that will bring in the new blood.”
CCRI was a natural choice for a partner, Mascena said, because of its existing Integrated Manufacturing Center at its Knight campus and programs that can be easily integrated into the associate’s degree in jewelry manufacturing. The college’s chemistry lab will also be useful, and an associate’s degree can be easily used at other community colleges across the country, she said.
“(Manufacturers) are having a terrible time finding new people,” she said. “Rhode Island was once considered the jewelry manufacturing capital of the world, and we’d like to try and keep companies that have remained, here, and keep them successful, and in order to do that, employees are the No. 1 concern – work force and skill level.”
CCRI and the jewelers trade group are trying to create a system where workers get the training they need to stay competitive; the community college can work with industry and trade groups to get students interested in jewelry manufacturing, and companies have direct access to potential employees, Delaney said.
“The use of technology is changing the rules,” he said. “We have a responsibility to train people on the process and materials in order to keep them competitive in the industry.”
