JCB North America recently welcomed its newest group of Apprentices. This year JCB adds nine Manufacturing Skills Apprentices and five Craft Skills Apprentices to an ever-expanding program which began in 2012. Currently the Apprentice Program has a total of 31 Apprentices working in the manufacturing business.
JCB North America currently manufactures skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, telescopic handlers and equipment for commercial and defense customers, and markets a range of more than 300 JCB machines via 120 dealers across the region. JCB’s Apprenticeship Program was introduced as the region’s first manufacturing apprenticeship program designed to increase the skilled labor workforce at the company’s headquarters in Pooler.
“When we began, we focused on the Manufacturing Skills Apprenticeship program and the first class had five apprentices,” said Tonya Poole, vice president of Human Resources for JCB North America. “The success of the program has been greater than we could have imagined which led us to look for more ways to incorporate Apprentices into the business. In 2019 we added the Craft Apprenticeship track offering an opportunity for graduating seniors to join JCB directly out of high school and explore different areas of the manufacturing process before deciding on a career. Both the Manufacturing Skills and Craft Skills programs have resulted in providing JCB with a highly qualified, internal pipeline of future employees and leaders and we look forward to seeing what the new class of Apprentices add to the JCB business.”
JCB’s traditional Manufacturing Skills Apprentice Program is a five-year Apprenticeship Program that accepts graduating high school seniors who are interested in obtaining a manufacturing related two-year associate degree at Savannah Tech. The JCB curriculum includes business awareness training, manufacturing foundations and on-the-job training. Apprentices rotate through several areas of manufacturing operations including Fabrication, Purchasing, Product Control and Assembly.
The Craft Skills Apprentice Program is a two-year program that allows high school seniors to rotate through departments on the manufacturing floor including Assembly, Fabrication, Paint and Materials. Once the Craft Skills Apprentices complete their four-month rotations, they have the opportunity to join JCB’s manufacturing team in an open position or join the traditional Manufacturing Skills Apprenticeship Program and earn their associate degree at Savannah Tech.