RV manufacturers pulled plug on Ivy Tech training program in Goshen

In the case of a training program for entry-level RV workers launched last year at Ivy Tech Community College, manufacturers scrapped the effort because it didn't yield enough students to justify the cost.

Area RV manufacturers that funded the 40-hour, five-day RV Production Associate Training Program at the college’s Elkhart County campus in Goshen — Thor Industries, Lippert Components and Patrick Industries — decided it wasn’t worth investing to keep it afloat this year, said Julie Foster, campus president. Though she said entry-level workers continue to be in high demand among companies, the program didn’t manage to draw enough participation.

“We were doing it at the request of our corporate partners, and unfortunately it was a very expensive program to run and the enrollment didn’t justify it. … It was about how much they paid per employee they got, and those numbers for them didn’t make sense,” Foster said. “People couldn’t justify 40 hours a week to take a class when they could walk right across the street and get the job.”

The $50 course, which taught students basic skills for entry-level RV production jobs, was offered for 13 five-daysessions that spanned from February through March and mid-May through June. After completing the course, students were given preferred interviews with one of the three corporate sponsors.

Up to 20 students could enroll in each class, translating into a potential maximum of 260 over the 13 sessions. But only 158 students enrolled in the program, Foster said, and 105 completed it. She said only about half of those graduates were hired by the manufacturers, a number much lower than anticipated.

Initially, she said, company representatives visited the Goshen campus to interview course graduates. But when representatives stopped doing so, it became difficult for instructors to coordinate off-site interviews at different locations.