February 2, 2012

REP. ANDRES AYALA SAYS HOUSATONIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE
TO BE MANUFACTURING CENTER

Representative Andres Ayala (D-Bridgeport) is pleased to announce the Board of Regents (BOR) for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities chose Housatonic Community College (HCC) in Bridgeport as a manufacturing center to train the state’s future manufacturing workforce. Included in job growth legislation passed by the legislature, $17.8 million in state bond funding was allocated for the development of manufacturing programs at three community colleges.

“This is an extraordinary milestone for our region,” Ayala said. “As we move forward in such a competitive workforce, and given the new and exciting job growth opportunities in the state, a higher education manufacturing center is great news. I applaud this effort and commitment by the Board of Regents and those involved in making this happen.”

Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury and Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson were selected by the BOR based on their ability to establish or expand manufacturing technology programs and their commitment to precision manufacturing.

The college has undertaken several initiatives to create a strong manufacturing anchor in southwest Connecticut and has offered associate degree programs that range from manufacturing processes to Computer Numeric Control (CNC). Over the last three years, HCC has also been actively engaged in communicating with manufacturers in its service area and has identified industry workforce partners.

HCC has developed a 2,400-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing labs for credit and non-credit programs. The HCC Advanced Manufacturing Center will include computer labs, milling and lathe machines, CNC machines, rapid prototypers and a welding center. The college is also in the final stages of planning an engineering and design studio to complement the lab. This will enable the college to significantly broaden its technology programs and course offerings

Enrollment in HCC’s technical programs has increased over the last several years, as they provide pathways for students interested in engineering, manufacturing and technology to transfer to four-year programs at Central Connecticut State University, the University of Connecticut and Fairfield University.