Durham Tech partners with Corning to offer paid internships, tuition assistance, full-time employment through Technician Pipeline Program
Durham Tech and Corning Incorporated have partnered to offer eligible students an opportunity to participate in their Technician Pipeline Program (TPP) – a two-year paid internship that offers tuition assistance and job placement at Corning upon completion.
Corning is a worldwide leading innovator in materials science and operates a life sciences and pharmaceutical technologies location in Durham. The TPP program was introduced in 2008 to optimize partnership opportunities between scientists and technicians in Corning’s Technology Community and increase the number of under-represented minorities and women in technician roles by establishing a comprehensive, fully customized talent pipeline.
In the Spring of 2021, Corning approached Durham Tech about recruiting students enrolled in the Electronics Engineering Technology program to participate in the program. Today, Durham Tech is one of nine community colleges across the country participating in the program.
“Community colleges are a critical community resource for the professional development of local talent,” said Dr. Mark Vaughn, Technical Talent Pipelining Manager at Corning. “Companies like Corning partner with centers of excellence like Durham Tech to not only shore up the pipeline of entry-level technical talent but support the needs and interests of the communities in which the programs of study are undertaken.”
To participate in the program, students must be pre-selected by Laurent Bert-Roussel, Director of the Electronics Engineering Technology program at Durham Tech. He looks for good grades, good attendance, and a hardworking attitude in the selection process.
“The Technician Pipeline Program is such a fantastic opportunity,” said Bert-Roussel. “To be in college and already have a job, and not just any job, but working for a Fortune 500 company, and they pay for your tuition and books. You can’t beat it.”
After pre-selection, students go through an extensive interview process with Corning.
Edwin Ventura was the first Durham Tech student selected to participate in the program.
“When I found out Corning was exposing students to the industry while they attend college, I got really excited. It’s been a great experience so far and I’m learning so much,” he said. “It means a lot to me and my family to have a job secured during and after the program.”
Ventura works eight hours per week at Corning during fall and spring semesters, and works full-time hours during summer semesters. He receives a $30,000 salary and financial assistance to pay for tuition and books at Durham Tech.
“I really appreciate that the people I work with treat me as their equal. I’m able to connect with them and they show me what they’re doing with the machines,” he said. “The first week I was there, they asked me to pair cables for robotic arms so I soldered the connectors, which is a skill I learned at Durham Tech. It was great to already feel comfortable with that skill on the job.”
Edwin anticipates completing his associate’s degree and TPP in Spring 2023.
“The impact of the TPP has been nothing less than transformational for the students,” Vaughn said. “All of our alumni attest that the program not only afforded them the opportunity to obtain a college degree and gainful employment in a career that has limitless growth potential, it provided them with a means to provide for themselves and their families in ways that they really couldn’t have imagined. The TPP has in a very real way reset the course of their futures and those of the generations to come.”
Today, three Durham Tech students are enrolled in the program.
Students enrolled in their first or second semester of the Biomedical Equipment Technology or Electronics Engineering Technology programs, are encouraged to contact Bert-Roussel if interested in this opportunity.
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Contact Marcy Gardner, Content and Social Media Coordinator at gardnerm@durhamtech.edu