Before you go …

If you like what you are reading and believe in independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism like ours—journalism the way it should be—please contribute to keep us going. Reporting like this isn’t free to produce and we cannot do this alone. Thank you!

Information compiled from “Raising the Awareness of Advanced Manufacturing in North Carolina:”

N.C. Manufacturing Week is happening April 8-12, and several events are planned in the 18 westernmost counties of the state. The following is a listing of those events by county, including contacts for further information:


Buncombe and Madison counties

Raising the awareness of advanced manufacturing careers

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has extended invitation via a “Golden Ticket” to all seniors and their parents in the Buncombe and Madison county districts and Asheville school system and to all juniors (and their parents) enrolled in the CTE studies in each school system. Collectively, this includes approximately 12 high schools (eight comprehensive, traditional high schools, two early colleges, one middle college, and community high school).

We have invited industry partners to join us in providing an awareness of advanced manufacturing careers locally as well as globally. These partners will showcase their product line, outline career potential to include growth, additional educational opportunities within benefit packages and salary ranges, both present and forecast.

We are focusing on engaging not only the student but also the parent in an effort to bring to light the changes in advanced manufacturing industry careers over the past several decades.

A-B Tech will have all of the engineering and applied technologies program areas present for this event along with the various other services important to students and parents alike, such as financial aid, scholarship opportunities, career development services, student life and development, disability services, an alumni table and more.

A-B Tech Enka Campus, Haynes Building, room 200
1459 Sand Hill Road, Candler

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 6-8 p.m.
promotional video

Contact Debbie L. Cromwell at debbiecromwell@abtech.edu or (828) 255-2503.


Haywood County

Potluck dinner with industry speaker

A potluck dinner will be held in the lobby of the Regional High Technology Center at Haywood Community College to kick off the events of Manufacturing Awareness Week. There will be a guest speaker from local industry to address the students and faculty about the importance of manufacturing in today’s economy.

Regional High Technology Center lobby, building 3000
112 Industrial Park Drive, Waynesville

Monday, April 8, 2013, from 4-7 p.m.

Contact Haven C. Hanford at hchanford@haywood.edu or (828) 564-5135.

Open house at Regional High Technology Center

Regional High Technology Center’s Open House will be open to anyone in the community to include local business, industry, prospective students and parents. It will include advanced technology presentations and exhibits, displays of computer equipment, tours of advanced machining and electrical engineering, live demonstrations and more.

Regional High Technology Center, building 3000
112 Industrial Park Drive, Waynesville

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 3-7 p.m.
webpage for more information
promotional video

Contact Haven C. Hanford at hchanford@haywood.edu or (828) 564-5135.

Professional development for advanced technology faculty, staff

Various professional development sessions will be on tap for our faculty and staff, including information on the latest technological advances in manufacturing along with a lean manufacturing update.

Regional High Technology Center, room 3009, building 3000
112 Industrial Park Drive, Waynesville

Wednesday, April 10, 2013, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
webpage for more information
promotional video

Contact Haven C. Hanford at hchanford@haywood.edu or (828) 564-5135.

Advanced technology student project ‘unveiling’

An event to unveil advanced technology student projects will be held at Haywood Community College’s library and will be followed by a reception held on the main floor of the library.

Haywood Community College Library, building 200
128 Freedlander Drive, Clyde

Thursday, April 11, 2013, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
promotional video

Contact Haven C. Hanford at hchanford@haywood.edu or (828) 564-5135.


Henderson County

Advance manufacturing STEM awareness

Local manufacturers will coordinate with Blue Ridge Community Colleges’ mechatronics, computer-integrated machining, mechanical engineering and electronics engineering to bring awareness of careers in manufacturing to local STEM high school students. The students will gain hands-on experience and speak with various companies about career opportunities.

Blue Ridge Community College’s Spearman Building
180 West Campus Drive, Flat Rock

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Contact Chris English at chrise@blueridge.edu or (828) 694-1728.


McDowell County

Promoting advanced manufacturing careers in McDowell County

Come join us for an exciting evening at McDowell Technical Community College to explore career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. There will be employers, high school personnel, college personnel and community partners available to answer questions such as how to get started and how to sign up. Parents of high school and middle school students are encouraged to come out and bring your children with you.

McDowell Technical Community College, Harold Smith Building, room 113
54 College Drive, Marion

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 4-7 p.m.

Contact Jim Benton at jimbenton@mcdowelltech.edu or (828) 659-0444.


Mitchell County

Advanced manufacturing career day open house

Come and explore career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. Meet with local industry representatives and college officials. See displays and hands-on simulations. Get information on degree and certificate programs available, and get an advance look at Mayland’s Anspach Advanced Manufacturing Center which is scheduled for completion in late 2014. Workforce development officials will also be present to provide information on trends in the job market.

Mayland Community College, Phillips Center Auditorium
200 Mayland Drive, Spruce Pine

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, from 12-6 p.m.

Contact Ted Ollis at tollis@mayland.edu or (828) 766-1297.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may republish our stories for free, online or in print. Simply copy and paste the article contents from the box below. Note, some images and interactive features may not be included here.

Angie Newsome

Angie Newsome is the executive director and editor of Carolina Public Press. Contact her at (828) 774-5290 or e-mail her at anewsome@carolinapublicpress.org.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *