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Maverick Technologies partners with Ranken Technical College

06/25/2008

Columbia, Ill., June 24— Engineering, systems integration and operational consulting firm, Maverick Technologies, announced today that it has accepted its first two Ranken Technical College graduates into its Project Support Center (PSC) recruiting partnership program. The program officially launched in January for the purpose of filling temporary-to-hire positions at Maverick with qualified Ranken graduates. Ranken is located in St. Louis, less than 15 miles from Maverick’s World Headquarters.

The program is currently dedicated to serving one of Maverick's largest clients, a global-leading renewable food manufacturer, as its projects require a large amount of base-level work. The PSC team’s services could soon grow to support projects for other clients located across Maverick’s international footprint. Maverick is seeking to develop additional relationships with other U.S. colleges and universities.

“Maverick, Ranken and the client have expressed their enthusiasm for the PSC program,” said MAVERICK’s North Region Manager, Mike Gavin. Along with Program Manager Jason Montroy, Gavin initially spearheaded the program’s development. “We expect the program to be extremely successful, doubling in size by the end of the summer and expanding again by the end of the year.”

Gavin and Montroy first suggested the PSC program to Maverick’s upper management as a solution for expanding the company’s services and reclaiming the base-level, high-volume work that the food manufacturing client had been outsourcing to a third-party offshore company at a low cost. Gavin and Montroy visited several universities and career fairs in the midwest in search of resources with the right qualifications to perform the work domestically and cost-efficiently.

When they heard about Ranken’s two-year, engineering-focused associate degree program, they met with the instructors and toured the college’s labs. Ranken’s engineering students are the right fit for Maverick because they graduate with the necessary programming and lab skills with base-level HMI and PLC programming, graphics generation and application testing and auditing experience.

“We were drawn to Ranken Technical College because its classroom environment focuses on practical application and training,” said Paul J. Galeski, CEO and founder of MAVERICK. “We would much rather help these local new graduates develop their skills through real-world experience instead of sending those business opportunities overseas. Keeping these jobs in the United States makes project collaboration and workflow easier while helping the domestic economy.”

Gavin gave a formal presentation at the school, announcing the PSC program, and Maverick received numerous applications. Gavin has also been invited to join Ranken’s advisory board meetings, where he offers information about changes in the field and the general market outlook so that the school can make curriculum enhancements as needed. The school also provides Maverick with feedback on helping recent graduates transition successfully from the academic setting to the business world.

“Ranken is happy to be working with Maverick,” said Ranken’s Vice President for Education, John Wood. “We want all our graduates to find gainful employment and succeed in their careers. Maverick provides a rich opportunity for our students, and we look forward to growing the relationship.”