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 Lucent Technologies promotes continuing education
By Jennifer L. Solis
Whether it's completing a certified training course or getting a master's degree, Lucent Technology is helping the course of continuing education. Located
in Reynosa, Lucent Technologies repairs/refurbishes telecommunications equipment.
Lucent works with the state of Tamaulipas, the university system, Monterrey
Institute of Technology and most of the smaller universities along the border. The facility also houses a virtual university.
"My belief is that I'm educating people to better their lives and their family
conditions," said
Gerri Penn, general director of Lucent Technologies-Reynosa.
Courses are offered year-round and on-site. They are taught by university
professors, engineers and managers who are certified to teach specific courses.
"If we can't find the right training package to bring in-house, we send people to seminars," Penn said.
Since the cost of education is expensive, Lucent works with the employee to help them achieve their goal.
"We have a reimbursement policy where, if an employee wants to enroll in a
master's degree program, our company will reimburse the employee once he or she receives a master's degree," said Jesus F. Vallejo Tamez, industrial relations manager of Lucent Technologies-Reynosa.
All Lucent direct-report managers are currently in a master's degree program, if they do not have a master's degree already.
"I highly support it and allow them the time they need to participate in the
programs, whether its company time or personal time," Penn said.
Lucent conducts initial training and job specific training. Even the direct labor
on the floor, the line workers, have programs they can enroll in.
"Employees at every level receive one week of orientation training, and then
they start getting into their particular area of expertise," Penn said.
Lucent is conducting many of the technical training sessions on-site.
"We signed a training agreement with technical schools and the Universidad Autonima de Tamaulipas. This agreement helps provide certification for electronic technicians and maintenance technicians," said Tamez.
Some of the classes include Pace/Hakko welding, handling of lab equipment and bar code identification.
 Certification programs allow employees to gain training skills and get certified. It gives them the opportunity to advance within the company as well as receive better pay.
"Last year, we provided an average of over 50 hours of training for each employee," Tamez said.
If the training is detected through the company and
it is a qualification the employee needs to perform a specific job, then the company will pay for the training. If the training is something that the employee
wants to enroll in for their personal goal, then the employee is not paid.
"If the employee wants to learn Excel, but it's not needed for his/her specific
job, then he/she is not paid for the hours during training, but is reimbursed for the course fee," Tamez said.
"We provide training that will enhance employees knowledge both professional and personal," he said.
One such course is the human effectiveness course, which includes topics on human relations, team building and maintenance of attitudes. Courses are not all technical training.
Lucent conducts attitude surveys on a regular basis.
"The results of these surveys indicate that our employees are very pleased with the working conditions here, the training and education they receive," Penn said.
The human resource department keeps a record of who was trained and in what area.
"When an employee decides to leave our company, we can easy-access how
much time and money we invested in that person. This way, if one of our competitors is offering the employee more money, we can make a determination of whether to keep or let this person go," Tamez said.
The training time for each course varies, depending on the course. Normally, courses are completed within a week. The number of students in general training is 25 people.
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