As many as 15 Oakland County engineers will be able to attend graduate school free at Lawrence Tech University, thanks to a new grant through a partnership with Oakland County and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The federal grant program, designed for engineers interested in completing LTU's graduate certification program in defense manufacturing engineering, is designed to help displaced automotive engineers find work in the rapidly-expanding local defense industry.
According to Maj. Gen. Scott West, commander of the U.S. Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command in Warren, the Army expects to boost employment in the Detroit metropolitan area from 6,500 currently to 9,800 by 2015. Most of the new jobs will be filled by civilians with advanced degrees.
The 15-credit-hour graduate certificate program consists of five three-credit engineering/manufacturing courses that concentrate on building knowledge and expertise in the military and defense contract industry. Defense industry experts serve as guest instructors throughout the program, and defense contractors will visit campus to conduct job interviews.
The program can be completed in two semesters, and the certificate’s credits are transferable to Lawrence Tech’s Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering degree program, which can be earned with an additional 15 credits. Classes in this certificate program begin the week of Jan. 17 for the spring semester.
"This is a boost to Oakland County and our Emerging Sectors and Automation Alley initiatives," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "Defense manufacturing engineering is among the fields where our Oakland County Economic Development Department sees long-term growth of high-paying jobs."
For more information, contact Lisa Kujawa at (248) 204-2400 or
lkujawa@ltu.edu.
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