Wallace State’s Center for Career and Workforce Development and YKTA launch new Tool & Die Maker Registered Apprenticeship
View pictures from Tuesday’s announcement | https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallacestate/albums/72157719729951896
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State Community College’s Center for Career and Workforce
Development and Y-Tec Keyflex Toyotetsu Alabama (YKTA) in Madison have agreed to a
Tool and Die Maker Registered Apprenticeship.
The Tool and Die Maker apprenticeship joins an Industrial Maintenance Pre-Apprenticeship
program, the FAME and Mercedes Tech programs, and a variety of other work-based learning
opportunities offered through the college.
“We’re continuing to meet the needs of our industry partners, working to supply them
with a pipeline of student candidates who are interested in earning a career in skilled
labor,” said Christina Holmes, Wallace State’s Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning
Coordinator. “Students interested in this apprenticeship are eligible to have their
tuition, books and tools paid for, while also enrolled at Wallace State. It’s a fantastic
opportunity, and we’re excited about it.”
YKTA, located off Greenbrier Parkway in Madison, is an on-site, tier one, auto supplier
for Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA, providing stamped metal chassis and body components.
Bob Crull, YKTA’s General Manager for Engineering and Maintenance, visited Wallace
State’s Machine Tool Technology and Tool and Die Technology students on Tuesday, discussing
the apprenticeship opportunities.
“Tool and Die makers are becoming a dying breed. They can be hard to find and even
harder to pull away from a good job. Therefore, we want to get our foot in the door
and build relationships with skilled students at Wallace State. We’re in it for the
long haul. We want to develop them at a pivotal age,” Crull said.
YKTA broke ground in Madison in May 2019 and began production earlier this year. Crull
said the facility is 750,000 square feet.
“Our Tool and Die maintenance team preps and corrects the tools before they go to
the stamping presses. We have five stamping presses,” Crull said. “This apprenticeship
and other opportunities on our campus are tremendous.”
The Tool and Die apprenticeship curriculum consists of five semesters, including a
welding component near the end of the degree plan. Graduates of the program will earn
an AAS degree in Machine Tool Technology with a Tool and Die focus.
Tool and Die makers analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate
machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools,
jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists’ hand tools.
Wallace State and YKTA have previously formed a partnership through the North Central
Alabama Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (F.A.M.E.) program, which
provides apprenticeship opportunities for students as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician.
“We have Wallace State FAME students working their way into a full-time maintenance
job over the next two years,” Crull said.
Mike Bridier from the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship in Montgomery also visited
the program on Tuesday, addressing the students.
For more information about apprenticeships and other work-based learning programs
at Wallace State, contact Christina Holmes at 256.352.8120 or christina.holmes@wallacestate.edu
For more information about YKTA, visit https://yktal.com/
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu
###id="attachment_18054" align="alignnone" width="300"
Bob Crull from YKTA in Madison and Mike Bridier from the Alabama Office Of Apprenticeship
are pictured with Wallace State Machine Tool Technology students and other Wallace
State representatives. id="attachment_18055" align="alignnone" width="200"
Bob Crull, General Manager for Engineering and Maintenance at YKTA, addresses potential
apprentices on Tuesday. id="attachment_18056" align="alignnone" width="300"
Wallace State students within the Machine Tool Technology program can now enroll in
a Tool and Die Maker Registered Apprenticeship.
______________________________
Russell Moore
Wallace State Community College
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256.352.8443 | office
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______________________________
Kristen Holmes
Assistant to the President for External and Cultural Affairs
Communications | Marketing | Museum | International | Government Affairs
256.352.8118 | office
256.339.2519 | mobile
kristen.holmes@wallacestate.edu
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