By Morgan Bryce
Staff Reporter
Constructed nearly two years ago, Southern Union State Community College’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing is a 75,000-sq. ft. facility that houses all its technical and workforce development programs.
Dr. Darin Baldwin, dean of SUSCC’s Technical Education and Workforce Development Division, said the state-of-the-art center is a huge asset not only for Opelika, but the surrounding area.
“It’s probably one of the only ones in the state that has this type technology in it for technical training. We work with a lot of local companies, and of course, their input is priceless when it comes to how we’re training and what we’re actually teaching our students,” Baldwin said. “Those partnerships have helped us acquire equipment and training aids that we actually utilize. Students are learning on the equipment that they’re going to use out in the facilities and companies that will employ them at their new job.”
According to SUSCC’s website, the technical division consists of three programs – engineering and design, industrial electricity and electronics/manufacturing technologies. The workforce development program offers air conditioning and refrigeration, cosmetology and automotive service, machine shop and welding technologies.
Additionally, the school offers short-term certificates for all its programs, including plastics injection molding, robotics and automation, and a six-week, non-credit tractor-trailer truck driver training course for individuals pursuing their commercial driver’s license.
“There’s a lot of hands-on work in these programs, so if you’re excited about getting your hands dirty and gets your hands on it, this is where you need to be,” Baldwin said.
For more information, call (334) 745-6437.