Judy Flynn spent 19 years working at United Technologies in Columbus. Then she found out the plant was closing. Fearful of not finding a new job at the age of 48, Flynn decided to send her resume to American Eurocopter.
“I was one of the lucky ones,” Flynn said. “When (United Technologies) closed, the job market was not good and I was afraid I couldn’t get hired. But I’ve been at Eurocopter for seven years. I’m now the manager of product control. I didn’t know anything about helicopters, but I was in supervision and material planning. If you can buy and plan one type of material, you can do them all.”
Flynn’s story is similar to the stories of much of American Eurocopter’s workers, as almost 20 percent of the aviation manufacturer’s employees are in their second career, many the result of a unique partnership with East Mississippi Community College.
“A lot of these employees went through the training program at (EMCC),” said Earl Walker, senior director of Mississippi operations. “Our partnership with (EMCC) has been very successful.”
EMCC Technical Trainer Dr. Jim Huerkamp said the school does the best it can to meet the demands of American Eurocopter.
“Considering the type of employee they need, we’ve been pretty successful,” Huerkamp said. “The Army and the FAA require people that are making helicopters to be of a certain skill level. We’re not going to put every employee they need out there but we train the ones we can.”
Even after the initial training ends, Walker said the partnership continues with continuing education classes.
“Now that the workforce is trained, they are being taught the special programs we need to sustain and grow a business, as opposed to starting a business,” he said.
In 2008, Norris Harris was laid off from his job with DynCorp. Harris, a father of three, expected difficulty finding another job, as his skills were of a specialized nature.
“I’m an aircraft mechanic,” Harris said. “I thought it would be hard for me to find another job. But American Eurocopter was interviewing some people that were laid off, and I decided to go to an interview. This is a very good company; it’s one of the best companies I’ve worked for.”
For Mitch Austin of Sulligent, American Eurocopter allowed him to use his special skills and to turn his passion into a full-time career.
“I was working at Nacco in Sulligent and I was doing some aviation on the side,” Austin said. “I had an airframe and power plant license from Northwest Alabama Community College. I was fortunate to get a job with American Eurocopter, which is a stable company with a good reputation. It has given me an opportunity to utilize the license I had acquired.”
Walker, a native of the Delta, attributed the commitment of the people in the Golden Triangle to a portion of what makes the company successful.
“I have always been impressed with the people of Mississippi and the people of this area,” he said. “We have our challenges in primary education, but I think every state has similar challenges. It’s just about taking the right person with the right work ethic and EMCC can train them to be successful.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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