Johnson County Community College was recently granted $40,000 to explore how students should be trained in the more tech-driven parts of manufacturing.
The college just received the grant from Michigan-based automotive manufacturer General Motors.
Officials say the college will use the funding to research how future students should be trained for advanced manufacturing with tools like robotics and artificial intelligence.
The research program is focused on futuristic technology
- Elisa Waldman, JCCC’s vice president of workforce development and continuing education, said the intent of the program is for General Motors to understand where advanced manufacturing is going — and what kind of employee training it will bring.
- Waldman said JCCC administrators and faculty will likely lead the research groups.
- After the year-long research program concludes, the college will present its findings at a conference with the other participants from colleges across the country. JCCC could potentially incorporate those findings into future curriculum, but nothing is set in stone.
JCCC the only Kansas college to receive the grant
- The American Association of Community Colleges partnered with General Motors Corporate Giving for the program.
- General Motors chose JCCC and six other community colleges across the country to participate in the research.
- JCCC was the only Kansas college to make the list.
JCCC will also train Panasonic workers at the future EV plant
- The awarding of this grant follows the announcement of a new Panasonic battery plant in 2022, which state officials expect to result in more than 20,000 new jobs by the time it opens in De Soto.
- JCCC officials said the college intends to help facilitate the training of these new workers through its existing trade skill programs.
- However, Waldman said that while these new advanced manufacturing research efforts are relevant to Panasonic-related training, the plans to train Panasonic workers were uninvolved in acquiring this grant.
- “I think it really is a very cool project because they’re bringing people together from all over the country to do this work,” she said. “It’ll be a national collaboration of community colleges with (General Motors) to sort of research where things are headed.”
Go deeper: JCCC aiming to help teach trade skills to future Panasonic workers
