WSU Tech, partners will cover tuition of workers laid off as result of 737 Max grounding
WSU Tech president Sheree Utash announced Friday that the school and its partners would cover tuition for workers affected by layoffs related to the indefinite grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.
“I’m very grateful the community came together to take care of people,” Robert Tallie, one of the people being laid off, said at Friday’s announcement. “I thought this was a perfect opportunity to add to my skill set and weather the storm.”
Tallie, his brother and mother were all laid off from Spirit, and all plan to take advantage of the scholarship program. Tallie and his brother, 27-year-old Romar Tallie, both earned an associate’s degree in coatings and paint last time they went to WSU Tech. This time, they plan to get certified in electronics technology.
Robert Tallie said he’s confident things will get better, but he still has short-term concerns, like making his car payment.
Wichita lawmakers have introduced two bills in Topeka that could help with some of the uncertainty. One would reduce wait times on people needing to apply for unemployment and the other would extend the length of unemployment benefits.
There are other resources available to help people as well: 2-1-1 United Way can help financially, and there are also employment and healthcare resources. A list of them can be found at aircapitaloftheworld.com/commitment.
The Air Capital Commitment team, which includes 16 agencies, including WSU Tech and the State of Kansas, formed before Spirit AeroSystems announced in January that it would reduce its Wichita staff by more than a fifth within a couple of months. The layoffs were the result of the Boeing 737 Max being grounded after two deadly crashes. Spirit makes parts for the 737 Max.
Predicting those layoffs were coming, the Air Capital Commitment group formed to address the future problem. The scholarship program is one of the solutions it came up with.
“We understand how important skills are and the need for skills. We are prepared to weather the storm that we have. We are going to continue to grow this economy,” said Keith Lawing, president of Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, one of the agencies on the team. “Skills do drive the economy.”
Lawing said the Workforce Alliance surveyed about 900 employees being laid off and more than a third said they wanted to pursue more training or education.
WSU Tech will help applicants apply for free, federal grant dollars and cover any remaining cost for the classes. The money will come from WSU Tech’s budget and a $10,000 gift from the Wichita Aero Club.
Lawing said the Workforce Alliance also has some funds available to help and other partners should be able to contribute as well.
The hope is that expanding the skills of the laid-off workers will allow them to find other jobs in Wichita or return to Spirit when the production of the 737 Max picks up.
Since the announcement of the layoffs, Spirit has announced that it would slowly restart 737 Max work, with the expectation it would be allowed to fly again. Spirit said restarting production would not affect the workers told they would be laid off.
Spirit makes parts for more than 70% of the737 Max, including the fuselage. The parts are then shipped to the Boeing facility in Washington for further assembly.
Boeing president and CEO David Calhoun said he expects the 737 Max to be permitted by regulators to return to service by mid-2020. The FAA said the 737 Max could have its certification flight in the next few weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Still, Spirit, Wichita’s largest employer, doesn’t expect to return to producing 52 shipsets a month until late 2022. That represents a major setback in production for the company, which had been producing 52 a month for more than a year.
“This is simply a very unique situation in which our community is being affected …We also know every individual has a Robert Tallie story,” Utash said. “We want to provide every opportunity we can for you to stay in Wichita and ride the storm out.”
The classes start in March and can be completed in six to eight weeks, and in “convenient half-day schedules.” More information can be found at wsutech.edu/communityresources/.
“I can’t tell you enough about how much love I feel from this program, from WSU Tech, this community,” Tallie said. “To me, this is the best place in the world for me to be right now. I just feel the love all the time.”
Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Eagle.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 12:06 PM.