Two Days in Class, Three Days on the Job: Meet Northwest Louisiana FAME
If you were the kid who took things apart just to see how they worked, there may be a career path worth exploring.
Getting everything back together is probably a good sign, too.
Northwest Louisiana FAME combines college classes with paid work at a sponsoring manufacturer, and applications are open for its 2027 class. This Thursday, October 29, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., an open house at Bossier Parish Community College will give prospective students a chance to learn about the program and meet sponsoring employers. See the official open-house announcement.
For a graduating senior weighing the next step, a parent helping sort through the options or someone considering a career change, this belongs on the calendar.
Yes, the work comes with a paycheck
FAME stands for the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education. That is a mouthful, but the weekly routine is easy to remember:
Two days in class at BPCC.
Three days working for a sponsoring manufacturer.
Students earn wages for their work hours while building experience alongside their education. The official Northwest Louisiana FAME chapter page explains the approach.
The roughly two-year program runs for five consecutive semesters, including summer. Graduates earn an Associate of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering Technology with a concentration in Industrial Maintenance, along with a FAME Advanced Manufacturing Technician certificate and additional industry-based credentials. BPCC outlines the program here.
The appeal is easy to understand: learn something in class, then see how it connects to the working world while it is still fresh in your mind.
A career in figuring things out
As North Louisiana Economic Partnership explains, increasing automation has helped drive demand for technicians with a broad range of maintenance skills.
In everyday terms, manufacturers need people who can investigate a problem, understand the equipment and help keep production moving. If solving a mechanical mystery sounds more satisfying than staring at it and hoping it fixes itself, you can probably see the appeal.
There is a substantial local team behind this effort. NLEP’s current list of sponsoring employers includes Benteler Steel/Tube, Bienville Lumber Co., CertainTeed, Frymaster, GE Vernova, Kronospan, Omni Specialty Packaging, Pratt Paper and Ternium USA.
The Northwest Louisiana chapter launched in 2022 and has already graduated three classes. And there is an encouraging result from the most recent group: NLEP reported that every May 2026 graduate received a full-time maintenance job offer from a local manufacturer. That is a meaningful example of the program’s connection to local employers.
Bring your curiosity and a few practical questions
This is a serious school-and-work commitment. BPCC lists 16 hours of classes and at least 24 hours at the employer’s job site each week. Students also need reliable transportation to both locations.
The financial details deserve a conversation, too. Students are responsible for BPCC tuition, and financial aid opportunities are available. Ask about wages, tuition, aid, work schedules and how students are selected by sponsoring employers. The BPCC FAME page is a useful place to start.
Those are exactly the kinds of questions worth bringing to an open house. A career plan gets a lot more useful when you can picture the actual week.
Put Thursday on the calendar
NWLA FAME Open House
When: Thursday, October 29, 2026, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Building L, BPCC’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology.
Address: 6220 East Texas Street, Bossier City.
Find your way: BPCC campus map and directions.
Explore the program and apply: Official NWLA FAME chapter page and FAME application portal.
Questions before you go? BPCC lists Daniel Atkinson as the program’s advising and recruiting contact at 318-678-6328 or datkinson@bpcc.edu.
We spend plenty of time talking about the jobs we want to bring to Northwest Louisiana. Helping people here build the skills to fill them deserves attention, too.
And for someone who likes figuring out how things work, Thursday could be a very useful first step.