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Former Student Turns back to GPTC for company training

By Colleen Jackson

Greg L Lumpkin and Gerald LaFontaine Jan 2012

Former student Greg Lumpkin understands that hard work and dedication pay big dividends. Lumpkin seized the opportunity to enroll at GPTC and get hands-on maintenance skills from electrical and mechanical systems instructor Gerald LaFontaine.

Like much of the student population, Lumpkin worked full time while attending college. He began applying his mechanical skills as an employee with Standridge Color Corporation in Social Circle, Ga. Today, Lumpkin is a maintenance supervisor at SKC, Inc. in Covington, Ga. He contacted LaFontaine to discuss training opportunities for his employees. SKC uses the Internet-based Coastal Clarity Multimedia training curriculum. The curriculum offers a unique combination of collaborative consulting services, technologies and blended learning solutions that reflect market needs in the areas of workplace safety, sustainable operations, employee training and clean technologies.

It was to LaFontaine that Lumpkin turned to incorporate hands-on training with the program.

“We can deliver the training through directed instruction,” says LaFontaine. “This will allow his people to come to the lab night or day and work around their schedules at SKC.”

Georgia Piedmont Tech’s Economic Development Division specializes in designing customized training for companies such as SKC. So, LaFontaine is customizing hands-on labs for each multimedia presentation the College delivers to the company.

“It’s a pleasure to help Greg out with his training needs,” says LaFontaine. “How often do you have a student come see you to request training for his employees?”

LaFontaine says that he remembers the advantages of his own technical school education. He acquired the skills to qualify for a technical-representative job in the pulp and paper industry, gained plenty of practical experience, and traveled across the Northern Hemisphere, working with the latest technology. His advice: “Be willing to try things that you may not be sure you can do–and put your all into it. When he tells students that hard work and dedication takes you a long way, it’s because he has, as the saying goes, been there and done that.

“Come talk to us [at GPTC],” adds LaFontaine. “We’re here to make dreams come true, and we have a track record of doing that.”