After several years of construction and an even longer planning process, South Arkansas Community College and public officials officially cut the ribbon Wednesday for the new Charles A. Hays Advanced Manufacturing Training Center.
SouthArk officials celebrated the grand opening of the AMTC on the East Campus with Gov. Asa Hutchinson on hand to deliver the keynote address.
The AMTC, which was first conceptualized almost nine years ago, has been under construction since 2015. SouthArk officials collaborated extensively with industry partners in designing the facility and curriculum.
At the grand opening, politicians, professionals, professors, plant managers, students and everyone in between gathered in the new classrooms for demonstrations of new equipment and explanations of their functions.
The ceremony began with SouthArk President Barbara Jones thanking local government officials and industry partners for their input and support on the project, noting that the equipment housed at the new facility was selected specifically for how it would benefit local industries.
“There’s a real need to train the future and the current employees, updating their skills and expanding their skill knowledge,” Jones said.
Heavy industry has modernized significantly in the past 30 years, said Ted James, SouthArk Industrial Technology program director. James said critical thinking is one of the most important skills heavy industry workers need and that it is one of the major focuses at the AMTC.
“There was a time when working in oil or chemicals or construction or engineering services even was mostly a matter of working with your back. It was hard manual labor. But it’s not that way now. … It means working mostly with your mind,” said Steve Cousins, chair of the SouthArk Board of Trustees.
Several federal officials also attended the grand opening. Christopher Caldwell, Delta Regional Authority Federal co-chair, spoke about the success he has seen in cooperative efforts like the AMTC across the state, where public and private interests partner to meet the needs of their community. Representatives for U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., were also in attendance, as well as state Sen. Trent Garner and state Rep. Matthew Shepherd, who was recently sworn in as the new Speaker of the House.
The facility was named after Charles A. Hays, founder of Systems Contracting Corporation. His son, Charles A. Hays, Jr., spoke emotionally about his father’s life – how he was born in a home with dirt floors, worked hard throughout high school and his adult life to eventually own his own business and give back to his community.
“He also never lost sight of the fact that our company was nothing without our employees. … Everyone was important, especially those people in the trenches and on the [plant] floors that work with their hands,” Hays said.
Hutchinson praised SouthArk and the local industry leaders for their innovation in partnering together to meet local workforce needs. He said 530,000 Arkansans are in need of workforce training and the AMTC can help to meet those needs.
“This is an incredible facility that meets the needs of the state of Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “If this work center reflects anything, it’s about the dignity of work, the importance of work to our society and our community.”
Sherry Howard, SouthArk Dean of Workforce and Continuing Education, said students come from all over the country to receive industrial training from the college. Howard said their workforce programs draw an average of 4,500 students annually.
Crystal Loomis, a process technology student, said she has been looking forward to this day.
“It’s amazing to see it all set up like this,” she said.
Loomis will spend about a year at the AMTC, before graduating next spring and looking for work at one of the local plants.
New technology housed at the AMTC will train students in welding, chemical process technology, industrial technology – mechatronics, electronics and instrumentation (E & I), forklift driving, OSHA safety training and loading and offloading rail and tanker cars. Classes will begin in the fall semester.
“Our industry partners have expressed the urgent need for a competent, well-trained, safe and highly-skilled workforce in these areas … That is what a community college does, is respond to the region’s needs,” Jones said.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].