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Vermeer Corporation and Des Moines Area Community College announced a partnership in closing a skills gap for those purchasing horizontal directional drills from the Pella-based manufacturer.

A ceremony was held Monday to highlight a new, first-of-its-kind training program, which featured speakers from Vermeer and DMACC, as well as U.S. Senator Joni Ernst and State Representative Guy Vander Linden.

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Ernst tells KNIA/KRLS News education partnerships between businesses and colleges and other institutions are vital in keeping jobs in the country. She was also excited about a component in the program that allows Veteran’s to use G.I. Bill benefits to cover tuition and lodging.

“We’re always looking at opportunities for our veterans and ways they can expand and broaden their knowledge base,” she says. “They already have a lot of great, hard skills, but now they can use the benefits of their military service and actually walk away with a certificate.”

CEO and President of Vermeer Jason Andringa tells KNIA/KRLS News the partnership is unique, and allows Vermeer to stay in front of a skills gap when cities and businesses build infrastructure with Vermeer equipment.

“For all the underground infrastructure work we see in Pella, that work is going on around the country and actually around the world,” he says. “It is a major need to get the type of skilled workers needed to operate what are quite complex pieces of equipment, but at the same time, once people are trained on it, they can be operated very safely and very effectively.”

The partnership between Vermeer and DMACC aims to certify the Vermeer HDD CircuitSM training program. Individuals who complete the two-week,instructor-led course will be classified as a certified horizontal directional drill operator. Tony Bokhoven with Vermeer says this opens the enrollment of Vermeer HDD Circuit training to veterans or other individuals seeking a career in HDD or looking to advance their career in the industry.

“The HDD Circuit program develops drillers who can walk a bore, plan a bore, set up a bore and complete a bore,” said Bokhoven, Lifecycle training manager at Vermeer. “We are creating an opportunity for a new generation of drill operators to have a career in a growing global industry. At a time when the horizontal directional drilling industry is experiencing a shortage of drill operators, the HDD Circuit program is an ideal training program to help veterans, students and others looking for a way to enter this growing industry.”