Decatur Times

Calhoun Community College is excited to announce its been named among sixteen other higher education institutions to compete during the 2023 Project MFG Regional Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Competition.

“I can’t begin to explain how milestones such as these are testaments to the advanced curriculum our technologies programs continue to produce,” commented Tad Montgomery, Calhoun Technologies Instructor. “Our students continuously go the extra mile in learning all the vital components of their programs and use those skills to compete among the best of the best in these types of competitions. We use these platforms to get better as well as to improve our classroom learning as well,” added Montgomery.

With the process of elimination, the final four teams will advance to compete in Project MFG’s National Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Competition. Teams are challenged with real-world scenarios and pressure tested to showcase the critical skills needed to succeed in modern advanced manufacturing.

Project MFG’s competitions aim to change the perception of the skilled trades and showcase successful careers in the industry. The American Manufacturing industry is facing a skills gap, potentially leaving more than 2 million positions unfilled if more young people do not enter the skilled trades. The manufacturing Industry touches many aspects of our daily lives – transportation, medical, technology, and defense are just a few.

Each year the competition becomes more competitive during the regional round as the next generation of skilled trades professionals is able to show off their advanced educational training. This year’s teams include the following colleges and universities: WSU Tech, Fresno City College, MN State College Southeast, Suncoast Technical College, Yuba College, Southwestern Illinois College, Ozarks Technical Community College, Streamwood High School, Lowell High School, Vincennes University, Calhoun Community College, Gadsden State Community College, Central Alabama Community College, Pickens High School, TCAT at McKenzie, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. Follow along over the next few weeks to see these teams compete.

To see more about Project MFG and its competitions, you can follow them on YouTube, showcasing some of their previous competitions and the reality series Clash of Trades.

To learn more about Calhoun’s Technologies Programs and the competitions they participate in, visit www.calhoun.edu/technologies.

More about Project MFG: Project MFG shines a light on the need and opportunities for skilled trades by focusing on the development of new talent to provide a path forward for individuals and our country. Project MFG competitions throughout the United States help promote skilled trades across various industries as well as assist in advancing the next generation of highly skilled trade professionals. As an integrated workforce development and recruitment effort, Project MFG collaborates across communities, the private sector, and government to expand the US industrial base workforce.

Project MFG is a program of the Global Learning Accelerator Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit, partially funded by the Department of Defense, and operated and managed by RD Solutions.

Original source can be found here.