NVCC Awarded Bond Funding to Build Advanced Manufacturing Center in Waterbury

The following posting is a press release from Naugatuck Valley Community College.

Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) received confirmation from Board of Regents President Robert A. Kennedy on Tuesday that it has been selected as one of three Connecticut community colleges to receive bonding dollars for a state-of-the-art manufacturing center on campus to meet the state’s manufacturing workforce needs. 

The BOR solicited proposals for the creation of three manufacturing centers in response to the passage of Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s bipartisan Jobs Bill, which encouraged new job creation, while developing and strengthening the state’s workforce competitiveness. Included in the bill is $17.8 million in state bond funding through FY 2013 for the development of manufacturing programs at the three community colleges. This funding includes capital equipment purchases as well as the renovation and expansion of existing college facilities to accommodate a manufacturing center. Exact grant award amounts are still being finalized.

“This is a tremendous recognition of the work being done by the College and the needs of our area,” said President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D.

“Moreover, the commitment and support this initiative has received represent a fine sample of the rich and deep collaboration that already exists between Naugatuck Valley Community College and multiple partners. Waterbury is a manufacturing town and the College has built strong ties to support that including an area manufacturing council that will collaborate with the College through the work ahead. We are deeply aware of the social responsibility and economic value of this entrustment. As a College, we embrace the challenge and look forward to making the Naugatuck Valley Community College Advanced Manufacturing Center a true community partnership and a significant economic mobilizer for the City of Waterbury.”

In November 2011, President De Filippis convened a group of community and industry leaders to meet with representatives from the Board of Regents, including Robert A. Kennedy, Ph.D., president, and Lewis J. Robinson, Jr., J.D., chair. State legislators, area manufacturers, education leaders and major industry partners came to voice their belief in the project as an economic necessity in a city that had experienced 39 consecutive quarters of the highest unemployment in the state. In addition, the College received more than 20 letters pledging financial and advisory support for the Center.

The College’s Foundation also agreed to help supplement the capital funding by raising $100,000 for operating expenses over two years.

“The Foundation will be very much engaged both in a fund raising and advisory capacity, said Dan Sherr, chair of the NVCC Foundation.

“But most importantly, we see this as an opportunity to participate in the renewal of the longstanding tradition of manufacturing along the Waterbury – Danbury Axis. Manufacturing means jobs."

Built on the region’s manufacturing roots and enhanced with modern advancement in technology and innovation, the Advanced Manufacturing Center located in NVCC’s Technology Hall, will continue to feature manufacturing and technical education with subjects ranging from CNC technology to welding and lean manufacturing.

NVCC is poised to rapidly respond to the state’s job creation initiative by expediting the procurement of equipment and resources through the implementation of curricular enhancements. Current enrollment and graduation trends also indicate a strong resurgence in NVCC manufacturing programs. There has been a 425 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in manufacturing certificate programs from 2006–10.

The center is now planned for a student enrollment increase of 100 percent in two years (approximately 90 enrollees) and another 100 percent in five years (approximately 180 enrollees). As a result, NVCC would purchase additional additive manufacturing machines, mills, new water jet stations and additional CNC equipment.

The bonding dollars for the Center come only three months after the College played a leading role in bringing evening bus service to the city of Waterbury.

“In our strategic plan, we committed to becoming an engine of change for the region,” said President De Filippis.

“The community college is the biggest mobilizer people have for social and economic transformation and we will continue to find new ways to do that by collaborating with our business and community leaders to develop and strengthen job-related initiatives and programs.

The College also recently established the Job Placement Center on campus to guide students through service learning and help them remain career-oriented throughout their education.

“The Job Placement Center, evening bus service and the Advanced Manufacturing Center are all means to an end,” said Jim Troup, dean of administration, who helped lead all three projects.

“We are trying to fill the gaps and give our students every possible chance for success.”

Close collaborations with NVCC’s Job Placement Center and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board will provide students with internships and industry partnerships producing highly skilled graduates ready to meet the challenges of 21st century product design, innovation and manufacture.

The Center will also receive support from area employers, the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Waterbury Regional Chamber, the Smaller Manufacturer’s Association, Waterbury public schools and the College of Technology.

“The coordinated efforts of all the partners who worked to secure this funding - the college, key industry partners on the Regional Advisory Committee, Mayor O'Leary and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (WIB) - signifies that all involved acknowledge the revitalization of manufacturing in Connecticut and the urgent need to train workers to fill the hundreds of manufacturing job openings that now exist in the state,” said Cathy Awwad, director of the WIB.

“We are thrilled by this opportunity to address the skill shortage in advanced manufacturing. The regions’ manufacturers have worked hand-in-hand with the College and the WIB to develop a program that will benefit the regions’ employers and employees alike and we look forward to the positive impact this will have. Coupled with the successful College Connections program, the new Waterbury Career Academy, and Kaynor Tech, NVCC’s Manufacturing Technology Center stands as the lynchpin in the resurgence of manufacturing.”

“The Center will give students opportunity to become acclimated to a functional work environment as well as enable them with the experience of hands-on training, and job readiness skills in response to industry work force demands,” said Mia Samsel, director of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“This much needed funding will provide the equipment and facility improvements needed to make the future brighter for many students interested in pursuing on a technical career. I believe that we are now positioned to better serve the needs of our students and industry in the Waterbury area.”