For immediate release
July 16, 2015

Contact:
Paul Ventura
Vice President of Marketing, Shoptech Software
800-525-2143
[email protected]

Northern Maine Community College students get real-world head start with Shoptech’s E2 Shop System

This year, the precision machining program at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle, Maine placed nearly 96 percent of its graduates into full-time machining job. According to program director Dean Duplessis, some of the credit for that high placement rate goes to software manufacturer Shoptech and its E2 Shop System.

Nearly four years ago, Shoptech donated a full-license for the software to NMCC’s precision machining program. Mr. Duplessis says that donation made a big difference in the kind of instruction that the program’s students received.

“Prior to using E2, we mostly used a series of spreadsheets and whiteboards to organize our production process,” Mr. Duplessis said. “Needless to say, that led to some challenges with meeting deadlines, quality control, and more. We ran into a lot of the same issues that private-industry shops face when it comes to process.”

The precision machining program at NMCC is unique because students work on real jobs. Those jobs come from real customers and are often referred by private-industry shops in the area. That means that students have many of the same deadline and quality standards that real-world shops have.

“E2 has been a huge benefit to our program because it’s given our students exposure to how shops actually plan and run their process. Our E2 system isn’t a ‘student’ version. It’s fully loaded with estimating, quoting, scheduling, and all of the other modules that real shops use,” Mr. Duplessis said.

He added, “That’s helped our students with regard to employment. Prospective employers come into our shop and see our students doing the exact same jobs and functions that they’d be doing in a private-sector shop. Our students are able to hit the ground running when they start working.”

Paul Ventura of Shoptech said that the company was happy to help NMCC. “It’s important for us to invest in the next generation of machinists. If we can help them be more prepared for their careers, then we’re happy to assist in any way we can.”

For more information, please contact Paul Ventura at Shoptech.

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