Ivy Tech Columbus Opens Advanced Manufacturing Training Lab for Southern Indiana

Ivy Tech Community College's Columbus campus opened a new advanced manufacturing training lab this fall, a facility designed to prepare technicians for entry-level positions at manufacturing plants across southern Indiana's diesel engine and industrial equipment corridor.

The lab replicates equipment used in real production environments, including robotics workstations and precision measurement tools, giving students hands-on experience with processes that would otherwise require them to already hold an industry job to learn. College officials said the program was developed directly with input from several manufacturers with facilities in Bartholomew and surrounding counties.

"Manufacturers kept telling us the same thing: they had open technician positions, but candidates coming out of general programs didn't know how to actually run the equipment," said the director of Ivy Tech Columbus's workforce development division. "This lab exists so that gap closes before students ever apply for the job."

The twelve-week certificate program is designed to fit around existing work schedules, with cohorts running in both daytime and evening formats. Several partner companies have agreed to guarantee interviews for graduates who complete the certificate and pass a hands-on competency assessment at the end of the program.

Indiana has positioned its advanced manufacturing sector as a priority for state economic development in recent years, and community college officials say workforce training capacity has lagged behind the pace of new facility investment. Ivy Tech Columbus said it expects to train roughly 100 students annually once the program reaches full capacity.