PJC receives $1 million grant for L3 training

Published or Revised June 01, 2006

Paris Junior College has received a $1 million grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to fund the training of more than 1,700 new and current employees at L-3 Communications facilities located in Greenville and Waco. Paris Junior College, which also has campuses in Greenville and Sulphur Springs, will administer the training programs, and will subcontract portions of the training to the Raytheon Learning Institute, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) and McLennan County Junior College in Waco, Texas. The training will be delivered onsite at facilities in Greenville and Waco, the TSTC campus in Waco, and possibly at some vendor locations not identified at this time. "This is a great opportunity for Paris Junior College, with the assistance from the Texas Workforce Commission, to reach out and help industry retain and train its workforce," said PJC President Dr. Pamela Anglin. "We are pleased that we can work with L-3 Communications and other local industry to improve the employment and economic well-being of our communities." The grant is one of several Paris Junior College has received from the Texas Workforce Commission in recent years to help area business and industry with workforce training. "As the demands on the defense industry increase to meet our nation's security needs, many companies are trying to replace the invaluable expertise of retiring employees," said Bob Drewes, president of L-3 IS. "Our industry is relying heavily on new graduates, but their limited first-hand experience makes for a slow transition and could eventually effect production. The training courses are a positive step toward making new graduates productive, safe and efficient in a more timely manner. This grant helps L-3 IS retain a skilled workforce to continue developing technologies and capabilities to enhance our national security, as well as bring more revenue into our state's economy." The grant will provide more than 81,000 hours of training to address needs at L-3 IS sites in Greenville and Waco. The training will include courses in manufacturing techniques, applied technology, and engineering skills to meet the demands imposed by the company's continued growth. A few examples of the courses offered include aircraft structural repair, systems engineering fundamentals, leadership training, basic drafting fundamentals and computer-aided design. A similar grant was awarded in 2004 for $400,000, and L-3 IS partnered with TSTC and the company's Professional Services to train 900 employees in Greenville and Waco. In 2005, the Greenville and Waco locations hired more than 460 new engineers, 36 percent of whom were new college graduates. With more than 186,000 jobs, the aerospace and defense industry is one of the largest employment generators in Texas. L-3 IS is one of the largest defense contractors in Texas with almost 8,000 employees in the state. Additionally, in 2005, L-3 IS' transaction value with Texas suppliers reached $124.8 million. With revenues of more than $6 billion, L-3 Communications is ranked 13 on the 2005 Defense News Top 100 list, a report on the world's leading defense companies based on defense revenues. In addition, L-3 Communications is ranked 211 on the Forbes magazine's Best Big Companies, a list of the 400 top-performing companies in America. L-3 IS is recognized internationally as a system integration organization specializing in the modernization and maintenance of aircraft of all sizes, and the study, design, development, and integration of special mission systems for military and commercial applications. The company has modified more than 15,000 different aircraft of more than 125 types. Headquartered in Greenville, Texas, L-3 IS operates from multiple sites in Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama and Australia. Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading provider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services and is a merchant supplier of a broad array of high technology products, including guidance and navigation, sensors, scanners, fuses, data links, propulsion systems, simulators, avionics, electro optics, satellite communications, electrical power equipment, encryption, signal intelligence, antennas and microwave components. L-3 also supports a variety of Homeland Security initiatives with products and services. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government