Displaced Workers Get Free SolidWorks CAD Software, Learn It, and
Obtain New Jobs
Nick Cook wasn’t looking for work until the economy “turned my 401K into
a 201K.”
Early in his search, the retired aerospace engineer heard of a possible
opening at a local company, Aerocet (www.aerocet.com),
that makes advanced composite aircraft floats for seaplanes. But there
was a catch: Aerocet engineers use SolidWorks® CAD software,
yet Cook had used a different program his whole career.
Cook contacted Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. (www.solidworks.com)
and learned that the company gives free SolidWorks licenses to displaced
designers and engineers, so he downloaded the software. A week later, he
let Aerocet know he was getting up to speed on their preferred CAD
program. Impressed with his initiative, not to mention his resume, the
Priest River, Idaho, company hired him.
“I’m grateful SolidWorks was available to me,” Cook says. “It’s a real
service for DS SolidWorks to offer it to job seekers who need it. It
helped me land a truly perfect job working on some exciting products. If
the Engineering
Stimulus Package (ESP) Program had not been available, I’m not sure
what I would have done.”
Cook’s colleagues at Aerocet appreciate the program, too. “We have a
high-caliber engineering team with uncompromising standards, and Nick is
a perfect fit,” said Operations Manager Garry Hojan. “His initiative to
start learning SolidWorks confirmed his passion for joining our company,
and he hit the ground running.”
More than 9,000 participants
Cook is just one of the success stories emerging from the SolidWorks
Engineering Stimulus Package program (www.solidworks.com/ESP)
unveiled April 6 to give job-seekers a chance to learn valuable new
career skills in computer-aided design.
