BridgeValley Community and Technical College (BridgeValley) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia (TMMWV) welcome over 100 manufacturing, government, and education leaders from across the nation to this year’s Second North American Advanced Manufacturing Technician Conference (AMT Conference) at the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) named Toyota Hall on March of this year.
A highlight of this year’s conference is a presentation from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System on Tuesday, May 19, starting at 2:30 p.m. The seminar highlights the remarkable work by Kentucky leaders to expand the AMT program into new industries as a powerful recruiting tool for both domestic and foreign businesses. This approach reduces potential employers’ reservations about the availability of a technical workforce, and may serve as a model for a similar initiative in West Virginia.
Another highpoint of the conference is BridgeValley AMT student Cody Cunningham’s selection as the AMT Conference’s keynote speaker. Cunningham discusses his motivation for enrolling in the AMT, and his insights and experiences as a recent graduate. The keynote address is Tuesday, May 20, starting at 11 a.m.
The AMT Conference is for providers of the nationally standardized program to share the latest developments and best practices from across North America for global implementation.  A go-and-see experience at AMT sites brings together educators and manufacturing partners to experience different instructional approaches and environments to improve the curriculum at their plants and colleges.
“Beyond providing a great opportunity for our students, Toyota is an ideal industry partner,” said Dr. Jo Harris, President of BridgeValley.
“BridgeValley is proud to host the Second Annual AMT Conference to share our progress with colleges from other states and learn from their approaches to improve the experience for our students.”
In 2012, Toyota West Virginia and BridgeValley launched the Advanced Manufacturing Technician associate degree program, which combines cutting-edge curriculum, paid working experience, and best practices of a world-class manufacturer. BridgeValley students selected for this program attend classes at the ATC two days per week and work three days per week at the Buffalo plant. Additional manufacturers have also participated in the program. Participants may earn more than $40,000 over the five-semester program.
BridgeValley Community and Technical College, formed in 2014 with the merger of Bridgemont and Kanawha Valley Community and Technical Colleges, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. With campuses in Montgomery and South Charleston, the service region for the multi-campus consolidated institution includes Fayette, Kanawha, Clay, Putnam, Nicholas, and Raleigh counties.
