Students learn tech job prospects

MOBILE, Ala. – There were some 300 junior and senior high school students from Baldwin and Mobile counties taking advantage of the Alabama Community College System’s dual enrollment programs at a March 7 career job fair here at the Alabama Industrial Development Training’s Maritime Training Center. Dual-enrollment programs allow students to earn tuition-free college credits in technology courses while completing their high school diplomas. Students interacted with industry representatives from Austal USA, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and the Alabama National Guard. With drones and robotic vehicles around them, students participated in virtual welding and observed a 3-D printer producing aircraft components used by Airbus. Austal USA executive Don Keeler said the company relies on the Maritime Training Center to provide specific training for new employees; and that AIDT was “Alabama’s secret economic development weapon.” ACCS consists of 24 comprehensive community and technical colleges, Marion Military Institute and the Alabama Technology Network, and serves about 185,000 a year. (Source: Gulf Coast Today 03/10/17)