Aside from the announcement that Augusta Technical College aims to build a massive facility, complete with robotics, to train potential manufacturing workers, other highlights from the school’s State of the College Address on Tuesday included new classrooms and an expansion of its health sciences program.
The college began a partnership with Piedmont Augusta in January to bring an ATC Health Science campus to the Piedmont Hospital Summerville Campus. College president Jermaine Whirl offered special praise for former Piedmont Augusta CEO Jim Davis, who announced his retirement in August, for his support in coordinating the partnership and the medical program’s growth.
“We’re currently renovating the medical office building,” said Whirl. “We’re using half of the first floor and all of the second; that construction work is going well.”
The program will be using 50,000 square feet of hospital space to house faculty offices, classrooms and a learning resource lab. Whirl said the renovation is scheduled to be complete by Dec. 7.
In April, Augusta National Golf Club donated $1 million to Augusta Tech toward the development of an automotive training center in the Laney Walker neighborhood. Shortly after Jim Hudson of Jim Hudson Automotive Group also gave $1 million to the school toward the proposed 65,000 square foot auto training facility.
MORE: Augusta Tech president announces major manufacturing projects
Whirl mentioned that the school has been in talks with several original equipment manufacturers about specialized programs to offer their particular training. The facility would offer instruction in traditional automotive, diesel, heavy and light duty, auto body and collision, as well as electrical and hybrid vehicle repair.
By moving automotive education off the flagship campus, Whirl noted, the school will have space to expand other vocational programs, such as the welding program, which is getting 20 new welding booths.
“There’s a lot of domino effects by doing these expansions that really helps us to produce more graduates down the road,” said Whirl.
Manufacturing development in the area of electric vehicles is growing throughout the Southeast, with Denkai America and Aurubis, both specializing in copper foil—a core material for electric car batteries—setting up shop in Augusta.
Augusta Tech has been in talks with these companies. Whirl said that while the manufacturing training projects over the horizon are not necessarily devoted to the electric vehicle industry, they would ultimately contribute to electric vehicle production, as suppliers such as Rivian and Hyundai building factories in Georgia. The skills cultivated in these growing manufacturing programs could also apply to companies such as Textron.
“That’s exactly what those manufacturers want,” he said about the college’s expanding curriculum. “So the ability to graduate folks than can do that work is going to be able to help us all.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
