Everett Community College to Spend Millions on Advanced Manufacturing Training

More good things coming to Everett Community College. Here’s the latest announcement…

Everett Community College plans to create a 37,000 square foot Advanced Manufacturing Training & Education Center (AMTEC) to train students for high-demand jobs in manufacturing and aerospace.

The center would be located inside 1001 N. Broadway at College Plaza in a $3.5 million remodel of the college-owned warehouse. The project is pending approval by the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

If the state board approves the center at its June 19-20 meeting, construction is scheduled to start by the end of 2013. AMTEC would open in 2014.

“AMTEC would allow us to train students and incumbent workers for the latest technology and high-demand skills required by employers,” said John Bonner, EvCC executive director of Corporate & Continuing Education.

The center will bring together six programs – manufacturing pre-employment, computer numerical control (CNC) machining, composites, engineering technician, welding and fabrication, and quality assurance.

AMTEC is designed to serve more than 170 manufacturing industry employers in Snohomish County. All programs will be short, stackable (individual credentials from different content areas that connect to each other) and lead to a professional certificate or college degree.

A three-year $888,653 Advanced Technical Education grant from the National Science Foundation announced June 3 will fund curriculum design, equipment, student support services and faculty training for AMTEC.

The center and new curriculum will teach students about the manufacturing process from start to finish. The grant also partners the college with the K-12 system, with courses designed from middle school through college with input from industry and teachers from middle school, high school and EvCC.

Classes will include key workplace skills such as using teamwork in diverse groups, applying knowledge to real-world settings, developing critical thinking related to advanced manufacturing technology and communicating from global perspectives.

The project also creates partnerships for faculty from middle schools, high school and community colleges that provide faculty with a continual updating of curriculum and scientific processes, with the goal of increasing the number of students earning four-year advanced manufacturing degrees.