The new 3,000-square-foot lab will help train students in the skills needed to succeed in the ever-changing field
WEST WINDSOR -- Mercer County Community College broke ground Friday on a $1.2 million advanced manufacturing lab as part of its continuing efforts to tailor course offerings to where the job openings are -- and where the jobs of tomorrow will be.
"It is important to us all that we're ready for jobs that we don't even know exist right now," Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes said. "Technology is moving at a speed that is really incredible for us all to imagine and ... this is really going to prepare people for the technical jobs that are going to be so critical."
The 3,000-square-foot laboratory will feature high-tech machining equipment, including mills, lathes, saws, grinders and presses as well as a classroom with workbenches and computers.
College President Jianping Wang said that jobs exist, but too often, employers complain that graduates lack the skills needed to succeed in the technology-driven manufacturing field.
"There is a huge gap between the traditional model of educating our students and the expectations the employers have for our graduates," she said. "The reality now is we have graduates who are unemployed or underemployed and then we have employers who are looking for skilled and ready-to-work employees and they can't find them."
Wang said the new lab will help train people how to run factory robots and computer-controlled machines.
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MCCC currently offers a certificate program in advanced manufacturing technology, but hopes to have a two-year degree program in place by the fall. Students would then be able to go on to earn a bachelor's degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Andrew Dickinson, 29, enrolled in the program two years ago when he realized he needed a better foundation for his job in technical sales at a manufacturing company.
"I want to actually understand when I talk to the manufacturing engineers, the production manager and metal workers and welders, know the terminology, know the processes and the machines they're talking about," he said. "Usually when it comes to the basics, I'm good, but when it gets a little second level ... I want to be able to be able to speak that language a little bit better."
Dickinson said the few courses he's taken has helped and is excited about getting more hands-on experience.
Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-Somerset) said he has seen the need for advanced manufacturing training -- both at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he is a physicist and head of science education, and during his tours of small businesses as an assemblyman.
"They're trying to find highly-skilled young people so when a place like this is coming together and will be ahead of the curve, that's incredibly important," he said. "I fully expect that the students who come out of this program will come out with skills that are going to make them highly attractive to businesses in the area."
The lab, which is being funded in part by the Building Our Future Bond Act, is expected to be completed by the spring. It is the first major construction project on the college's West Windsor campus since the welcome center was built in 2009.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.