Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) will host “Filling the Skills Gap in Manufacturing: New Learning Tools & Opportunities,” an event showcasing the College’s new manufacturing workforce program at the M-TEC Building located at 3601 Schaefer Rd. in Dearborn. This event runs from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8 followed by a reception.
The College continues to collaborate with various partners, including Ford Motor Co., to create the next generation of manufacturing programs across the country. These programs have been designed by the Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC), which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Gary Saganski, director of HFCC’s Corporate Training Division, said that for the past three years “We have been building new targeted and flexible educational tools for manufacturing maintenance with colleges and automotive companies through the NSF/AMTEC. We are working to fill the gap that exists in applied manufacturing higher education. Companies have new technology and new manufacturing processes, and this has necessitated the need for new types of educational products. Our programs will be designed to address that. We need to fill the skills gap to prepare the next generation for work in the manufacturing field.”
Representatives from Ford, General Motors, and the Chrysler Corp., the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Ferris State University, as well as automotive suppliers and community organizations, will attend the event. New educational technologies will be showcased, as well as the online modularized curriculum. Discussions will focus on new skills evaluation capabilities available to companies and schools to assess potential advanced placement. In addition, there will be a live demonstration of the AMTEC Manufacturing Simulator, the hands-on manufacturing production system that is used in college lab settings.
According to Reg Witherspoon, program developer in HFCC’s Corporate Training Division, the AMTEC Manufacturing Simulator simulates what happens on a manufacturing floor in a controlled lab environment.
“It is a tremendous new educational asset because it gives students access to real-world hands-on experience in the classroom, rather than encountering this technology for the first time on the floor of a plant,” Witherspoon said, noting that these new technologies will benefit the field of manufacturing as a whole, not just automotive manufacturing.
“Manufacturing has had a negative image for the last several years. People think it’s no longer needed when the reality is the exact opposite. Manufacturing is a key sector of the economy. To compete nationally and globally, a skilled workforce is needed in all of advanced manufacturing – large and small. The public needs to understand that manufacturing is central to the economy and a viable educational pathway at HFCC,” Witherspoon added.
HFCC offers an associate’s degree in Mechatronic Manufacturing Maintenance (also called Multi-Skilled Manufacturing Maintenance), which includes a Basic Certificate. Program students will develop skills in areas including industrial electrical, controls, mechanical systems, robotics, welding, hydraulics and Predictive Maintenance Technologies. To learn more, please visit http://www.hfcc.edu/programs/.
If you wish to attend the “Filling the Skills Gap in Manufacturing: New Learning Tools & Opportunities” event, please RSVP to Cyndi Parrelly at (313) 845-9650 or via email at cparrelly@hfcc.edu.
MEDIA: If you wish to attend, please contact the HFCC Office of Communications at 313.317.6801 or emailcommunications@hfcc.edu
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Source: Henry Ford Community College