By Jacque Cordle, Director, Marketing and Community Relations, Office of Institutional Advancement
The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) has partnered with East AlabamaWorks to offer a Modern Manufacturing Program to K-12 and adult students, ages 16 and older, within Alabama School for the Blind, Alabama School for the Deaf, Helen Keller School of Alabama and E. H. Gentry Facility (EHG). Classroom space at EHG has been transformed to support the needs of the program which welcomed its first students this spring.
"I am very interested in the Modern Manufacturing Program, which will help me grow as a future employee in the manufacturing or automotive industry,” said Parker Clardy, a student at EHG in the General Services caseload. “I look forward to adding all the certifications MMP offers to my resume to help me find higher-wage employment opportunities."
Led by East AlabamaWorks, the Modern Manufacturing Program was created based on the industry needs of automotive manufacturers in Alabama. The program will equip students with basic knowledge of processes to prepare them for over 40,000 manufacturing jobs that are available in workforce Region 2, a region that spans seven counties in East Alabama: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Randolph and Talladega.
Students who complete the program will have an advantage in the job market in manufacturing industries. The Honda Alabama Auto Plant in Lincoln is one manufacturer, and supporter of this new program, within Region 2.
“The Modern Manufacturing Program will provide students with basic manufacturing skills before they enter the workforce, helping to increase their career options and hiring potential, while also assisting local employers efforts to fill the workforce gap,” said Michael Gaines, Manufacturing planning and control division lead, Honda Alabama Auto Plant. “We look forward to continuing to work with East AlabamaWorks, local schools and the community to provide opportunities to students through this new program.”
“AIDB is truly appreciative to East AlabamaWorks and its partners in making this exciting initiative available to students within AIDB’s programs,” noted AIDB Chief Adult and Field Services Officer Jessica L. Edmiston. “We hope to quickly expand to offer fully accessible weekend, evening, and summer classes to those who are not currently AIDB K-12 or adult learners, but who have hearing or vision loss or perhaps a physical, cognitive or hidden disability who desire to become certified in Modern Manufacturing. The program is a truly robust opportunity that complements our menu and continuum of services within AIDB.”
