Recognized for Contributions to Advanced Manufacturing
County College of Morris (CCM) has been presented with a prestigious Good Neighbor Award from New Jersey Business Magazine for its Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center (AMEC), which is addressing the need for skilled professionals to keep New Jersey strong.
In announcing the award, New Jersey Business Magazine noted that 3.4 million manufacturing jobs will be created over the next decade that will require math, science and engineering skills and praised CCM for serving as “a positive example of New Jersey answering this educational need.”
The announcement further credited the college for designing the center for collaborative learning where students can draw their concepts on whiteboard walls and walk down the hall to prototype and manufacture using state-of-the art equipment and fabrication tools.
The Good Neighbor Awards recognize firms, institutions and nonprofits that have contributed to the economic growth and stabilization of their respective neighborhoods by constructing and improving buildings and infrastructure that add value to their communities. Recipients are selected based on community involvement, job creation, architectural merit and economic benefit.
“We’re delighted to have AMEC recognized with this distinguished award for all that it contributes to the success of advanced manufacturing in the region and state,” said Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, CCM president. “It is an honor to be included among such an impressive group of recipients.”
Also included among the 2022 recipients are a veteran’s housing project in Jersey City, a leading-edge cancer center at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, a new road in Cherry Hill and a gene therapy center in Hopewell.
To meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in advanced manufacturing, CCM partnered with industry and state and local officials to open AMEC on its Randolph campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The $11 million, 31,500-square-foot facility now provides a pipeline of workers, while also enabling current employees to update their skills and create innovative solutions. With a $4 million federal CareerAdvance grant, the college also is leading a consortium of community colleges in the state to create successful apprenticeship models in advanced manufacturing. Its apprenticeship program currently holds a 93 percent job placement rate.
High school students from the Morris County Vocational School District also benefit from AMEC by taking part in the college’s Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing share time program.
To learn more about the college’s programs in advanced manufacturing, visit www.ccm.edu/workforce/manufacture/.
