CTC Expands Course Offerings in Facilities Maintenance Program

Chattahoochee Technical College will be introducing a plumbing class to its Building and Facilities Maintenance Technology program this fall. It is the first time the college has offered a course in the area of plumbing.

The introductory class will feature instruction in basic pipe sizing, fitting identification and terminology, pipe joining, valve identification and plumbing repairs.

“On the multi-family residential side of facilities maintenance, plumbing problems are the number one reported issue,” Chattahoochee Technical College Instructor Mike Turkington said in a press release. “Naturally, any building with plumbing will benefit from a skilled maintenance technician.”

Renovations are underway to build a lab specifically for the program and its students.

The 660-square-foot area will include all new Siemens motor controllers, a plumbing trainer and a new conduit installation trainer. In addition, the college will offer a new course in structured maintenance, which includes topics of carpentry and cabinet repairs, tile and floor repairs, paints and finishes, lab and shop safety, building codes, handicap accessibility, conduit installation, and waterproofing.

The program, which is less than a year old, is taught primarily at the Marietta Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College with some classes available at other locations.

The 52 credit-hour program officially launched last August with its first group of students. The Building and Facilities Maintenance Technology program is a designed sequence of courses that prepares students for careers in the maintenance and repair of residential and light commercial structures and attendant fixtures and appliances.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median hourly wages of general maintenance and repair workers were $16.21 per hour. The employment of general maintenance and repair workers is expected to grow 11 percent over the next few years.

“It is important that graduates of the program have a general and basic understanding of everything that the industry requires,” Turkington said. “Job requirements typically include heating and air conditioning, electrician work, construction and plumbing. We teach to meet and exceed those requirements.”