MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Area Technical College is in overdrive to meet the needs of Foxconn and other area manufacturers.
A new associates degree may interest Foxconn recruiters because the dual degree focuses on electronic technology automation and cyber security.
By next spring, the instructor of electronics at MATC expects his enrollment to at least double from 80 to 160 students.
A years-long plan to create a dual degree in electronic technology automation and cyber security now has a launch date for the fall.
"When Foxconn got introduced, what happened is that slow movement now became turbocharged," said Tom Heraly, MATC Instructor for Electronics.
Cyber security is expected to attract Foxconn recruiters.
"There's a lot of people that are trying to get at the grid the electrical grid the water grid," said Heraly, "You wanna secure that so that you won't have intrusions or people breaking into your system."
Getting students interested in skilled labor may be their biggest hurdle.
"For electronic technology automation I had 25 job postings in one week. I don't have enough students to fill it I need that pull from the employers to pull those students in to say here are some great opportunities," said Heraly.
That is why MATC also plans to roll out new certificate programs, starting with construction.
"Certificates that can get them out the door with one year experience and certificates that will get them into the higher level jobs with the two year associates degree," said Heraly.
A tall order for MATC to roll out by Fall, and more importantly a big deal for Southeastern Wisconsin.
