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HAMILTON — Manufacturing: It's a dirty job, but four area residents proved they have the skills it takes to do it.

The Southwest Ohio Manufacturers' Consortium graduated its first class from a pilot Pre-Employment Training Program meant to teach residents the skills they need to work for an area manufacturer, said Scott Ellsworth, chairman of the consortium and vice president of Tipco Punch.

Among the graduates were Zak Raeon and Chad Minnich, manufacturing technicians with BAE Systems in West Chester Twp., and Jeffrey Knue, production supervisor for Thyssenkrupp Bilstein of America in Hamilton.

The three employees were meant to test out the program to make sure it would be able to fulfill the needs of their companies, Ellsworth said.

One graduate, Scott Waters, was a prospective employee for Bilstein and took the course with no experience in manufacturing. After completion, he was offered a position as an assembler, said Tom Barnes, human resources manager for the company.

"It was very successful. We're always looking for qualified employees and Scott (shows this program) will work well for us," Barnes said.

Qualified employees are hard to find, train and retain, and the program will allow a pool of educated applicants to be available to the consortium members, Ellsworth said.

"It's expensive to begin training and then have someone quit because they aren't prepared and have to start over again," he said.