Tech Training Help

[Richard West]

Keith, Avery and All,

I think tech training at universities is a great idea.  I've done a 
little here, but it has been disorganized and haphazard.  It seems like 
some of you are trying to actually do it right and it would be great for 
our profession if this were available in more universities.  It also 
should be something a university would benefit from because universities 
are used to slave labor/apprentices also known as grad students.  

Keith, I'm surprised that it takes 1 year to get any benefit.  I will 
say that the times that I've had help, I've thought it takes as much of 
my time to train them to do a task as it would take to do the task 
myself, so you might be right.  It makes me wonder how long it really 
takes to learn this profession. I think it may be unrealistic to ask a 
student to commit to a 4 year course, 2 years seems more workable to 
prevent dropouts.  Has anyone ever tried using Randy Potter's course in 
conjuntion with a university tech training?    

Richard West, University of Nebraska

Keith Kopp wrote:

>Avery, 
>Here at Brigham Young University we both now have an informal program
>with no credit given and also now have a history of a formal credit
>program that has been dropped.  I will address some administrative things
>to look out for and let Jim address the training challenges. This could
>actually be a very in depth study. There most likely should be a chapter
>in a CAUT handbook on this subject. main reason the formal program was done away with is the competition you are training for other technicians in the area. In the past as well as now we have had students leave the program before they are fully trained. They then go to work in the private sector and start making four times as much as then would make in a work study program. We train them and before they are an asset to our program we are left high and dry. The private sector then has half trained tuners who say they have been university trained. We are committing new students HARD to basically a four year program. This is basically how we see a successful program work. First year they are trained at no charge and they receive no reimbursement. You mentioned that you would have four hours help. Our experience is you will not receive help. You will train them for four hours. They will not be a real help for the first year. I think Jim will say it cost you four hours. Second year they are hired at somewhere between 10 and 15 hours week. It is only then that you be able to get some help from them without being right there with them at every step. They receive more training. In return they are paid a little more than minimum wages. We are current working our detail to have a third year at higher wages and a fourth year when they would finally get a healthy wage and finally be worth the time we will have invested in them. We like to start freshmen. We are also looking into ways to keep them from leaving before completion. We feel a need to design a program so that they will be RPTs by the fourth year. There is a waiting list of students who desire to enter this type of program. We have been approached by at least eight students in the past two years. I would like to write in more detail but do not have time now. This might be an interest discussion at annual convention at a CAUT get together. Keith
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
>Avery Todd
>Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 9:33 AM
>To: College and University Technicians
>Subject: Tech Training Help
>
>List,
>
>I recently had a grad student come to me and ask about learning to
>do piano work as a TA or Work Study. To make a long story short, it's
>been approved and he'll probably be starting some time next week.
>He's a composition major and also a pianist and is a TA already, so
>they're just transferring 4 hours a week to me. I know it's not much
>but it's 4 hours help I've never had before and at least it's a step
>in the right direction!
>
>Since I've never really trained anyone from scratch, can someone
>who maybe has, give me any ideas about the best way to go about
>it? I figured probably mostly shop type work in the beginning and
>later, start him learning to tune. I'm going to try and get the
>Reblitz book to at least give him something to study and learn a
>few things that way. Any suggestions to make this work smoothly
>and be beneficial to him as well as me, would be greatly
>appreciated. Thanks.
>
>Avery
>________________________________
>Avery Todd, RPT
>University of Houston
>Houston, TX
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>_______________________________________________
>caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
>  
>