After enduring hurdles including a forklift accident that caused him chronic pain South Korean-born Jimmy Yang landed his dream job this past year after completing A-B Tech’s Certified Production Technician program. Yang, who has a degree in electrical engineering from South Korea, had to start from scratch building new skills after immigrating to the U.S. as a young man. He was working at Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces in Fletcher as a warehouse assistant for a decade when a forklift accident left him unable to do his job, which required heavy lifting.
After nearly a decade unable to work, Yang became frustrated and depressed. His wife, also a factory worker, urged him to find a new path. Yang enrolled in A-B Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Center’s certified production technician program in hopes of gaining new skills that would land him a job at Pratt and Whitney.
“I wanted to learn new skills recognized in the United States to have a better future,” he said. The program was not easy. With the English language a hurdle, Yang put in extra time studying for the three required tests but still failed the class the first time around. His instructor Anna Kaltreider recalls, “He was so focused. By nature, he’s an overachiever. I knew it wasn’t helpful for him to be studying by himself on headphones at home.”
Yang took the class again and this time Kaltreider put in extra time helping Yang get hands-on practice on the skill boss machine, which assesses skills needed for assembly and machine operation. It was exactly the kind of one-on-one attention Yang needed. He passed the class the second time around and, after a series of interviews, was finally hired by Pratt and Whitney this past January.
In his new position, Yang is working as a blade grind operator for airplane fans. It’s a position that comes with many perks. “The people are good people; the orientation was good and my boss is very nice,” Yang said. Best of all, he earns $10,000 more than in his previous job and the work does not require heavy lifting. Regular trips to South Korea for acupuncture treatments have helped to ease the pain from his neck and arm injury.
These days, though he’s busy working the night shift, Yang still enjoys stopping by the Advanced Manufacturing Center, which feels like home. On a recent visit, he stopped in to say hello to Kaltreider who marvels at how far he’s come since the day he walked in the door. At that time, realizing the hurdles he’d face with English and his injury, she’d thought perhaps an apprenticeship would be the best way to land a job. But, in the end, she reflects, all Yang needed was his own persistence and a little TLC. “He had so many chaotic things going on, but he was so committed to this,” Kaltreider says. “We are so proud of him for succeeding.”