Today’s Opportunities in Manufacuturing

By: Vanessa Wagner

A recent Brunswick News story, “Welding continues on as family trade between father, daughter” focused on Kristin Byrd and her exposure, and later return, to welding as a career pathway. Kristin had excellent first-hand knowledge of this skill through her family; however, how many other students may love to learn to weld or build airplanes but have no idea how to gain the skills needed for these high-demand manufacturing careers?

This past week the National Manufacturing Association shared that manufacturing output hit an all-time high, signaling the industry’s strength. In the first quarter of 2019 manufacuturing accounted for 11.3 percent of real GDP and hit another all-time high in May with 509,000 open jobs. While the sector is strong, still 68.8 percent of business leaders in manufacturing cite the inability to find skilled workers as a top challenge.

Fortunately, Brunswick-Glynn County has excellent programs and people already in place to help students gain the skills needed to enter these high demand fields. The outstanding work of our technical and career schools is recognized throughout the state of Georgia. Last year Coastal Pines Technical College was named the #1 Top Technical College by James Magazine and Lt Gov. Casey Cagle named the Golden Isles College and Career Academy the, “The 2019 College and Career Academy of the Year.”

Coastal Pines Technical College has over 20 technical and industrial programs from engineering technology to naval maintenance. The school offers both programs for high-school students through dual enrollment and adult-learning options. Recently the school began offering new courses for dual enrollment including hospitality, aviation, and industrial maintenance. Conveniently located next to the Brunswick Airport Coastal Pines frequently partners with significant aviation companies like Gulfstream to provide students with unique training and development programs.

Designed for today’s students, Golden Isles College & Career Academy presents a new academic model. Their outstanding, state-of-the-art facility encompasses over 123,000 contiguous square feet of classroom, laboratory, administrative, and conference space on a single level. At full enrollment, over 1,000 students can benefit from the academic programs, including precision machine, manufacturing/engineering, or Computer-Aided Design (CAD).

In Brunswick-Glynn County students don’t have to rely solely on personal connections, to find their ideal career path within high-demand industries. Brunswick-Glynn County programs and facilities exist to help students and professionals gain the skills and experience needed to meet today’s opportunities in manufacturing and beyond.

To learn more about our workforce development programs and other resources in our community contact our team at 912-265-6629.