Once associated with low pay and manual labor in dirty, hot conditions, today’s manufacturing facilities are clean, temperature-controlled spaces where it’s the robots that do the heavy lifting, and right here in the four-county area that Vance-Granville Community College serves, a full list of companies contribute to the more than $44 billion of goods that the state sends to consumers near and far each year.

That’s where you come in.

Having those manufacturers within the VGCC footprint provides a unique opportunity for the community college to help students with education and training and to create a highly trained pool of employees to fill jobs these employers need.

Stephanie Tolbert, VGCC’s dean of Business and Applied Technologies, said the college has been offering programs like mechatronics and electronic engineering, among others, for a long time. And now, VGCC is getting ready to break ground for construction of its Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Granville County that will ultimately bring all those programs under one roof.

“We have tons of manufacturing companies, and that equals a lot of jobs,” Tolbert told WIZS TownTalk.

With more than 250 workers 55 or older in area manufacturing facilities, Tolbert said VGCC is positioning itself to provide a trained workforce as employees take retirement so companies can keep their production strong.

There are several different paths to get trained, from certificates to an associate’s degree, she explained.

A full-time student can take 4-5 classes and finish in one semester. In one year, a full-time student can take 10-12 classes and receive a diploma credential. An associate’s degree takes two years.

A student can get started in a certificate program, secure a job upon completion and then return for the additional classes – sometimes on the employer’s dime.

“They need employees now but know that this education is valuable and will make them a better employee,” Tolbert said.

The new center, a 35,200 square-foot building that will be located in Triangle North business park, is scheduled to open in January 2028.

“We are extremely excited,” Tolbert said. “This is a project that has been in the making for a decade.”

Initially, the center will house the mechatronics, electronic engineering, electrical systems technology, welding and HVAC programs. There will be conference space for meetings and trainings and open labs that will serve as expansion spaces, she explained, so future programs can be brought in.

David Bullock is the department chair for Applied Technologies, and Tolbert said the program has grown under his leadership – in the past four years, in fact, enrollment is up 40 percent.

Students learn technical skills that transfer to programming, repairing and maintaining automated and robotic equipment that continue to transform manufacturing.

But don’t believe everything you hear about robots and AI taking over all the jobs that humans do, Tolbert said.

A robot doesn’t move until it’s commanded to – by a human punching in instructions with a device akin to an iPad or tablet. “These robots are here to work collaboratively,” she said, doing the hard work which frees up the humans to do other things.

“AI and robots, I promise, will not take over manufacturing,” Tolbert said. “They cannot do anything until we program them to do it.”

Not sure whether mechatronics or advanced manufacturing is something you’d be interested in or good at? Come out for a visit or take a tour at a summertime “Thursday Connect” event, Tolbert said. Tomorrow’s (6-25-26) event will be held at the Franklin Campus from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

And if you’re someone who built Lego creations when you were a child or still enjoy taking things apart, figuring out what’s wrong and putting things back together again, then Tolbert says, “mechatronics may be your jam.”

There’s plenty of time to apply, enroll and get registered for fall semester, which begins mid-August.

Visit https://www.vgcc.edu/ to learn more about programs, classes, registration and future Thursday Connect events.

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