The Central Louisiana Technical Community College in Natchitoches hosted a group of young men and women and their families for its Manufacturing Open House Thursday, February 27 . The Open House showcased a unique partnership designed to address the changing workforce needs of area manufactures while providing an amazing opportunity to young men and women willing to work hard.
Northwestern State University, The Central Louisiana Technical Community College and several area manufacturing plants have joined forces to offer the two year Advanced Manufacturing Technician program, This program, now in its fourth year, offers students an opportunity to earn an Associate’s Degree in Engineering Technology from NSU as well as a certificate as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician from CLTCC.
One of the many attractive features of the program is receiving hands on training with a salary, currently a minimum of $12.00 per hour, from one of the participating area manufactures. In two years, the student will have earned an associate’s degree, a nationally recognized certificate as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician and two years of relevant work experience all while having earned a salary while in school! Starting salaries for the students once they graduate average between $20 and $25 dollars an hour, an impressive start that will only get better as the new employee gains more experience and skills.
This superb opportunity is the result of a collaboration between the Natchitoches Community Alliance, Northwestern State University, Central Louisiana Technical Community College and several area manufacturing firms seeing a critical need and working together to address it. This program is currently the only one of its kind in the state of Louisiana. To make it an even better opportunity, a student entering the program with at least a 20 ACT score with at least a 19 on the math section will have their tuition paid for at NSU.
