CULLMAN – This week, REHAU, Wallace State Community College, and Cullman County Schools announced a new REHAU Academy that will offer paid apprenticeship opportunities to Fast Track for Industry dual enrollment students beginning this fall.
REHAU officials from Cullman and Germany have been in intensive meetings with representatives from Wallace State and Cullman County Schools for several days to work out the details of the new partnership to ensure the curriculum achieves desired learning outcomes and also aligns with the German apprenticeship model.
“Globalization demands that if we want our students to be competitive we provide them with exposure to international corporations, diverse perspectives and technologically-advanced and innovative work environments. We are fortunate to have a number of very successful international industry partners here in Cullman, which work closely with our programs to provide a range of opportunities for our students,” said Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics. “We are grateful for this new partnership with REHAU and commend its leaders for their willingness to work with us to develop the first REHAU Academy apprenticeship program in the United States. We look forward to the development of many more such programs in the future.”
REHAU’s Head of Vocational Education, External Continuing Education and Training, Michael von Hertell, who oversees apprenticeships from the company’s headquarters in Germany, and Hubert Förg, Head of International Training for REHAU, joined with Albert von Pelser-Berensberg, REHAU-Cullman Plant Manager, to endorse the program.
“This cooperation is a further step into the future for Cullman County and REHAU,” said von Hertell. “With this program we want to train the professionals of tomorrow in cooperation with Wallace State and Cullman County Schools. Theoretical and practical training are connected with each other in this new training course. This program is similar to the German education system. We are pleased to have found us a superb partner with Wallace State and Cullman County Schools.”
Eight paid REHAU Academy apprentices will be selected each year from the Fast Track for Industry program. Students will apply for apprenticeships during their junior year of high school and begin the apprenticeship during their senior year. (For this year, since Fast Track for Industry will not begin until fall, applications will be made available to current 11th graders at Cullman County Schools who plan to enroll in the Fast Track for Industry program.)
Each apprenticeship lasts two years – the senior year of high school and freshman year of community college – during which time students will split their time between working at REHAU and attending Fast Track for Industry classes on campus at Wallace State. While at REHAU, students will receive real-world specialized training in injection molding to becomepolymer specialists. REHAU will compensate students financially for their participation in the apprenticeship. Upon successful completion of the program, students will have graduated from high school and earned a certificate in injection molding from Wallace State. They will be eligible for fulltimeemployment with REHAU as polymer specialists.
Dr. Craig Ross stated, “I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity that is available for our students and community in this coming school year. The Fast Track for Industry program has the potential not only to have a major impact on Cullman County Schools, but also I believe it will have a very positive impact on the entire county.” Dr. Ross went on to say, “Students could actually enter this program as a junior and graduate high school with an associate degree, possibly at no cost, and be ready to transfer straight to a university and/or go to work.”
“This is not just putting students to work, it’s providing training and education,” said Jimmy Hodges, Dean of Applied Technologies at Wallace State. “The goal of the program is that they will be training at REHAU on whatever we’re teaching.”
Wallace State already has an apprenticeship partnership in place with REHAU for college students in the mechatronics and tool and die programs. In fact, Wallace State mechatronics instructor Joe Hendrix, who will also be teaching some of the Fast Track for Industry courses, traveled to Germany last December to experience the German training model firsthand.
REHAU is among the Cullman area’s largest employers. But as the company continues to experience unprecedented growth, it has been challenged to fill job openings with highly qualified personnel in a timely manner.
“Our target with this apprenticeship program is to train students for jobs,” said REHAU-Cullman plant manager Albert von Pelser-Berensberg. “Not only will students who complete the program be eligible for employment at REHAU, we would consider it a failure if they didn’t work for us after the apprenticeship is completed.”
Polymer specialists are among the most in-demand positions at REHAU-Cullman. Those working in this area are likely to find themselves creating bumpers for Mercedes, one of REHAU-Cullman’s biggest clients. Two thousand bumpers, designed and manufactured to precision, are produced in the Cullman facility for Mercedes each day.
In addition to bumpers, REHAU-Cullman also specializes in a PEXa pipe for plumbing, geothermal heat exchange, radiant heating and cooling, and municipal water service lines. PEXa pipe is a kind of highly engineered and environmentally sustainable polymer pipe pioneered by REHAU to withstand extreme temperatures, excessive surges in pressure and sudden impact.
REHAU’s Automotive Group will soon open its first North American research and development technical center in Cullman, which will be dedicated to injection molding, paint, fabrication and supply chain processes. The company plans to use this new space to conduct automotive component and systems design initiatives that will then be carried forth into production at the Cullman plant and throughout the world.
“REHAU has long been committed to lifelong learning," said Hubert Förg, who is in charge of international training for REHAU. "We have apprenticeship programs and advanced training for our employees in Germany and across Europe. At our facilities in other parts of the world–in South America, for example–we have implemented programs dedicated to continuing education for our employees. This apprenticeship program completes the lifelong learning cycle of opportunities we are able to offer outside of Europe, so it is very important step for us.”
Expanding industries like REHAU and increasing workforce needs make the Fast Track for Industry program especially timely.
“The REHAU Academy and Fast Track to Industry are shining examples of model programs developed by Alabama's community colleges to provide businesses and industries in our state with the skilled workforce they need and deserve,” said Dr. Mark Heinrich, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System.
Fast Track for Industry is a dual enrollment program for 11th and 12th grade students interested in pursuing career technical fields and express entry into high demand, skilled positions in the workforce. Students in the Fast Track for Industry program will be taught by instructors from the Cullman Area CareerCenter and Wallace State. They will attend all their classes at the Fast Track for Industry academy on the Wallace State campus. The general studies building at Wallace State is being converted for this purpose. This early college initiative is a unique partnership, and Dr. Karolewics commends Dr. Ross for his vision.
The addition of the Fast Track for Industry program at Wallace State will allow the Cullman Area Career Center, Cullman County Schools’ vocational training center at Vinemont, to expand its reach to serve career-tech students beginning in the 9th grade.
For more information about Fast Track for Industry and the REHAU Academy apprenticeship program, contact Jeff Curtis at 256-352-7862 or jcurtis@ccboe.org, or Jimmy Hodges at 256-352-8229 or jimmy.hodges@wallacestate.edu. Cullman County high school juniors and parents of students interested in the program should contact their guidance counselors immediately. Applications to participate are due before the end of the school year.
