Ground has been broken on a new Bluegrass Community and Technical College campus in Georgetown that will house the Advanced Manufacturing Center for high-skills jobs training in Central Kentucky.
The new campus will feature a 78,000-square-foot center expected to serve 1,200 students, with 12 full- time and 20 part-time faculty in the advanced manufacturing technology program. Programming will include industrial maintenance, electronics, PLCs, industrial electricity, robotics, mechanical drives, fluid power, machining and welding. The advanced manufacturing technology program will support the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement goals for making Central Kentucky a premiere advanced-manufacturing area.
Partnering with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky since 1987, BCTC and TMMK developed in 2006 the “work and learn” advanced manufacturing technology training model to increase the pipeline of skilled workers. Now, 17 companies have joined the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education – KyFAME – to create a structure that allows companies to innovate, adopt new technologies and create talent.
“This solid partnership with business sectors to design and offer high-skills training for the workforce is the model of the future. This building is an important part of the program. Our students receive direct support from potential employers to be sure they are ready to contribute on day one,” said Dr. Augusta Julian, BCTC president.
Funding for the new BCTC campus was allocated by the Kentucky General Assembly, based on a design funded in 2006 and completed in 2008. A financial investment of $375,000 was made by the Scott County Fiscal Court, with the city of Georgetown assisting in securing funds to construct infrastructure. In 2014, the governor and legislature supported funding of a project to expand production at TMMK, and the training component included the campus for BCTC.
Traditional academic courses and customized workforce training for business development will also be offered to the Georgetown and Scott County community. The center is scheduled to be open by the spring of 2017.
BCTC has six campuses and three centers that are within a 30-minute drive of 95% of Central Kentuckians. The college enrolls some 18,000 students annually and provides training for business partners to more than 2,000 employees.
From BCTC