The West Georgia industrial landscape is undergoing dramatic
change, rapidly becoming a highly capitalized, high tech
multi-national manufacturing region.
As the communities of West Georgia prepare to expand their
ability to produce globally competitive products, the twin
requirements of manufacturing efficiency and labor productivity
demand a new definition of a skilled work force.
In collaboration with local leaders, three regional universities,
QuickStart and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership,
West Georgia Technical College is working to create a new
educational paradigm for the training, problem solving
and R&D needs of this new industrial base.
Located on the campus of West Georgia Technical College
the Center for Integrated Manufacturing is a fully functional,
scaled down, manufacturing plant that immerses students in
a real world manufacturing environment using industry standard
equipment and 21st century manufacturing processes.
Students in the program may choose to major in Automated
Manufacturing or they can complete a core manufacturing sequence
with a specialty in one of the traditional disciplines of
Drafting, Plastics, Machine
Tool, Welding, Industrial
Maintenance or Electronics. Whatever their choice the focus of the program
will be on the manufacturing process.
Students completing the Associate’s Degree in Automated
Manufacturing will be eligible to complete the last two years
of their baccalaureate education at Southern Polytechnic
State University.
As an added resource, the Center will include a technical
problem solving arm staffed by partners from the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership at Georgia Tech and Auburn University
and by Georgia QuickStart to assist local and regional manufacturers
with the challenges they face in a globally competitive manufacturing
environment.
Offering a new approach to education, training and problem
solving, The Center for Integrated Manufacturing will provide
an unprecedented set of educational and problem solving services
to the entire West Georgia manufacturing region.
For more information contact Jim McNair, Dean of Industrial
Technologies at 706-756-4576 or by email at jmcnair@westgatech.edu
